Experiment in Darkness
by Mechanist
Summary: When an experiment of Maleficent's goes on a rampage through the worlds, Sora and the gang are called again. but that's just the beginning of their problems...SoraKairi RoxasNamine RikuOC. Please Review!
1. After One Year, Apathy

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts2, or any of the KH merchandise.

Experiment in Darkness

**Chapter One: One Year Apathy **

A year had passed since the defeat of Organization XIII. Things were well once more in the universe. Sora had returned victorious with Riku by his side. There had been a sad farewell with Donald and Goofy, but even that had a sweet edge. Now things were back to normal…

And Sora and Riku were enduring a long session of summer school to make up what they had missed while they were traveling about the universe, saving the worlds from the darkness.

Sora glanced out the window from his desk. He was working on an algebra problem that was making his brain feel like it was boiling. Looking at Riku, it seemed that his friend was having the same difficulties.

_A Shadow leaped out from behind one of the many crevices in the plain of Radiant Garden. Sora batted it out of the way with the Keyblade, the sword tearing the thing's body to shreds of darkness. He yelled out a battle cry and challenged the hordes of Heartless that were gathered before the Villain's Vale. He swept up the Keyblade into battle position and took off running toward them. "Ahhhh!" Sora yelled, jumping up_---and swinging his pencil like a sword.

"Sora, what are you doing?" asked Mr. Harding the teacher. He was sitting up at his desk and blinking as if Sora had woken him up---which he probably had. "Do you usually go wild in class like this? This is the fourth time this week that you've done this."

"Oops…er…sorry" Sora said. "Guess I got carried away."

"I guess you did" Mr. Harding agreed. "Sora, I think that tomorrow we'll have a talk about a new school for you. There seems to be no way for us to control your behavior."

"Wait" said Riku. He was the only one in the class except for Sora. "If Sora leaves, then who am I going to work with?"

"Why me of course" responded Mr. Harding without a moment's hesitation. "I'll be your partner and this will give you time to get focused on the geometry." He rubbed his hands together.

Riku's groan could probably be heard all the way in the World that Never Was.

That afternoon, Sora couldn't resist. "Look like you'll have lots of quality time to spend with Mr. Harding pretty soon" he joked.

"Oh, shut up" said Riku. He was walked with his hands in his pockets. He looked at the setting sun. "Going to school from sun up to sun down seems like a poor repayment for what we did, doesn't it?" he asked suddenly.

Sora sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I never really thought about it that way. I mean, the whole point of our mission was to try and get back home, right? So now that we're here you start complaining? Remember how worried you were when that message in a bottle came from the King?"

Riku shuddered at the memory. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. I thought that something else had happened and we were going to be called back to save everyone from some kind of other menace to world peace."

"Sora! Riku!" called a voice near the school baseball field. The two turned to see Kairi, friend and recently graduated Keyblade Master. After the nightmare that had passed for a school year, Sora had begged Kairi to spend her time in summer school with them. Riku hadn't outright asked; he would never do that, but Sora could tell that he wanted that too. Kairi had flatly refused to waste her summer vacation in summer school after she didn't need it. Kairi had passed with a straight A in every subject.

"Then tutor us" Sora pestered. "If you get As in everything, then you have to be a super brain! C'mon!"

Kairi had still refused, saying that she had something planned for the summer.

"Oh, hey Kairi" said Riku.

"So how did this class go?" asked Kairi. "Did Sora have another flashback?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah. And this time I woke Mr. Harding up. He was so mad!"

"Are you going to another school like he threatened?" Kairi asked.

Sora shrugged. "He said I am. But that's what he said last week. And the week before that. And the week before that. So I can't really tell if he's serious or not."

Kairi waggled a finger at Sora and said "You should really be careful though. Now that there's no more need for a Keyblade Master, you've got to get _real_ jobs. You can't be daydreaming about the Heartless and still get a high school education."

"Jeez Kairi, don't tear his head off!" Riku said, laughing. He gazed out in the direction of the Play Island. You could see it clearly over the rooftops of town from the hill where the school was located. Sora had always believed that it was built that way so as to torture the children inside, to glimpse freedom so far away. They rarely went there anymore. Since that time one year ago when they had first come back, and three other times. In fact, the three of them didn't get together very much anymore. Two of them maybe, but never all three. They were growing apart, the magic was fading. To Riku, his adventures across the universe were still fresh, but they seemed to have happened to another person. Kairi, who had the least experience of the small group, was already forgetting bits of her role. And Sora…well it was evident that Sora hadn't forgotten his adventures quite yet.

"So what do you want to do?" asked Sora. "I have an hour before I have to get home. Riku?"

"I don't have a curfew" Riku said. "I can't believe you forgot that Sora."

"What about…what about you Kairi?" asked Sora, swallowing slightly. It had been a while since Kairi had really joined them and hung out. She always had something better to do, usually with Selphie or Tidus, or Wakka. Sora guessed he couldn't blame her. She had been waiting for a year for them to come back. She must have gotten closer to the others during that time. Still, it didn't stop the pain from spreading itself across his heart. He wondered suddenly if Roxas wasn't feeling sad that Namine couldn't spend time with him too. Roxas, his Nobody. He couldn't forget it even if he wanted to. Thanks to that little seppuku stunt he had pulled in the recently renamed Hollow Bastion Castle, he had a whole set of memories that weren't his floating around in the back of his head. He wondered if Kairi didn't have that problem too. It wasn't bad---just weird. Still, even if he had known the ramifications it would have, he wouldn't have changed anything. It was how Kairi had gotten her heart back, for heaven's sake!

"I promised Selphie that I would go out to that new restaurant that opened a day ago…" Kairi said.

"Oh" said Riku, his head down. "I guess we'll see you then…" he began to walk away. "Just let us know when you want to hang out Kairi" he said in a voice which meant he didn't expect it to be anytime soon.

"Well, guess what? Selphie also said something else…" Kairi said.

"What is it this time?" Sora asked, a little annoyed.

"It's a party for you Sora on your sixteenth birthday!" Kairi smiled. At the same time, Riku clapped Sora on the back.

"We really had you going there for a while didn't we!" he laughed.

"Wha…? You were playing along?" Sora said, surprised. "I didn't know you were that good an actor."

"I'll see you at six" Kairi yelled. "It's called the Universal Vale!" Kairi yelled. She and Riku went off down the street.

Sora went off to his house, musing about what good friends he had. Summer vacation, summer school or not, was going to be fun. His first summer back on the Islands.


	2. All Is Not Well

All Is Not Well

Maleficent was actually, for the first time in the long history since her encounter with that wretched Keyblade master and the King's lackeys, happy. She had not even been this happy when she was once Court Magician instead of that bumbling, speech challenged duck. She finally had a base all her own. It was even better than that ancient castle at Hollow Bastion, and defiantly better than that crumbling ruin that she had been reduced to after the disaster that had changed her quest to control every world into one of furious revenge. It was newly constructed, relatively speaking. And it was on a world that was particularly hard to reach. One couldn't very well just casually fly a ship into the World That Never Was. No, the former castle of Organization XIII suited her purposes just fine. There had been actual laboratories and libraries on magic and other arcane matters ready and waiting, as if the inhabitants had just left them right where they were. Not to say that there hadn't been at Hollow Bastion, but most of those had been in ruins; the machinery irreparably broken, or (and it made her furious to admit) beyond her understanding The redecorating was almost complete. Maleficent detested the color white. And it was on absolutely _everything._ That and the Nobodies. They had to go, and without the Organization to do their thinking for them, they had pretty much left for parts unknown, each trying to get its heart back its own way she supposed. Well, good luck to them. It hadn't been much of an effort for Maleficent to trick the Keyblade Master and the King into thinking that she and that fool Pete had nobly sacrificed their very hearts to allow them time to defeat Xemnas. The mousekateers were tired and stressed, being chased by a mob of wrathful Nobodies and hungry Heartless. And, although Sora made a brave speech about trying to help them, Maleficent could see that he was tired, and wound tight as a spring preparing for his showdown with that self-proclaimed king of nothing. And as for Mickey…well, the boat boy king was so convinced in their sincerity that it was easier than taking candy from a baby to fool him.

So they had escaped unscathed. There was a minute, two at the most, of uncertainty when the horde of Shadows had come crawling up the stairs toward her and the cowering Pete. Then they hesitated before her vast, dark presence… and fell on their small knees in worship. And that had been that. There had then been a large amount of crashing and then a huge empty feeling as the presence of some powerful being disappeared. At that, Maleficent knew that the World That Never Was was in her possession forever. Well, at least until she set her sights upon the wider universe. And she had already begun operations on that.

"Pete, where are you?" her cold voice echoed through the deserted corridor that she was walking through. It carried to the many balconies and towers that the castle possessed.

"Y…yes! I'm comin' Maleficent!" yelled a rough voice from the intercom system that Maleficent had installed throughout the place. She could hear a crash and then an "Oops!" then it beeped off.

Maleficent sighed. She didn't know why she kept that idiot around. He was barely of any use as a hand to carry equipment. He could barely control the Heartless on his own; worse, like everyone at Disney Castle he used the power of light to fight, albeit as ineptly as he did everything else. The only times he had been able to carry out missions for her correctly was when they Keyblade Master wasn't present. This, come to think of it, had been quite often recently. It looked like the little brat was out of commission. Even better for her to continue her goals. Time was hard to tell here; watches ran backwards, clock hands spun madly, and hourglasses just stopped running. But Maleficent had been able to sense that they had been here for roughly a year. So much done in one year! It was beautiful. And her final project was going to be completed. Roman Numeral Thirteen, a kind of happy irony, considering the nature of the group that had inhabited the place before her.

Pete finally arrived, panting and out of breath as usual. He had a limited knowledge of how to use the Dark Corridor, but he had either forgotten it or more likely just didn't think to use it. Well, she wasn't going to remind him.

"Are the final steps ready?" Maleficent. "Have all the nutrients tanks turned red?"

"Pete nodded. "They're as red as tomatoes. I even gave the blue tanks a tap for you! And the Heartless are doin' their part" he said.

The soon to be Queen of the Universe nodded. "Good, good. I don't suppose you looked to see if Roman Numeral Thirteen is still breathing?"

Pete's ponderous silence was answer enough. Once again Maleficent wondered why she kept him around. Perhaps because, as annoying as it was, Pete's stupidity was oddly endearing. That and the fact that he was the kind of lackey who was actually loyal, no hidden agendas. She had learned _that_ lesson the hard way. Betraying her wouldn't occur to him.

"I will check on it myself" she said. In a few more days, I think that this one will be ready for testing."

"Which world will we test it on?" Pete asked eagerly as they walked side by side.

"I should say Disney Castle" Maleficent said offhandedly.

Pete stared at her, shocked. "You can't be serious!" he said.

"Of course I'm not serious" Maleficent said. "I would no more attack Disney Castle than I would cut off my own arm. I would not risk rousing King Mickey or the Keyblade Master Sora at this stage of the game." She grinned to herself. It _would_ be delicious to spring her new creation (if this one lived) on the inhabitants of Disney Castle, that ridiculous bastion of light, even better on the ignorant denizens of the Destiny Islands, but that would have to wait. The time would come when she and her Alliance would win over the do-gooders and their friends. But right now, she had to wait. Over the past year, Pete had gone back to the worlds to see what could be salvaged from the wrecks of her plans that the Keyblade Master seemed to leave behind him like an animal trail. Things had not looked good. Barbossa was still alive, but he hadn't wanted anything to do with Pete after the abdominally weak Heartless he summoned had let him down in his fight with his rival Jack Sparrow. Scar was dead. Oggie Boogie was dead. Not that Maleficent had liked his gung-ho attitude very much. Jafar was dead. This particularly irritated her after the hard work she had put into seeing that his lamp was returned to Agrabah. The fool then had to get himself killed by a small "street rat." Ursula, who had somehow returned, was dead as well thanks to the meddling power of the Keyblade. Maleficent thought back to the time when she had first seen the boy after barely defeating the Heartless at Traverse Town. How weak he had been! She remembered Ursula making a suggestion of turning him into a Heartless. Maleficent had waved that idea off, and said instead that they should merely observe the boy. If she had only said yes! What a better way things would have turned out. She had gotten vaguely nervous when Riku had reported that Sora had killed the Heartless in Wonderland that he had sent to pick up Alice. Still she passed it off as mere luck, and the presence of real warriors from Disney Castle. Then Sora had defeated and killed a potential member of her group. That had been what made her realize that the boy was a threat and had to be stopped. But none of that mattered now. Now Sora, if he chose to stick his neck out for his friends across the worlds, was going to get it cut. Because Maleficent had been busy over the past year.

Very busy.

Sorry, I didn't mention this in my first chapter---this is my first fanfic! Please review! Flames accepted, but not **too** harsh.


	3. At the Vale

**At The Vale **

The Universal Vale was a pretty odd restaurant. It had a spell on it so that the ceiling looked like stars and planets revolving around each other. Riku even recognized some of the constellations. As they sat down at the table, Tidus began chattering about some obscure move he had made in blitzball that day.

"It was, like, totally awesome guys!" he said, ruffling the tie of his suit uncomfortably. All of the boys were wearing suits and ties. The girls all had elegant summer dresses.

"This is like something out of one of those novels we read in English" Sora said to Wakka. The redhead nodded in agreement.

"Kinda uncomfortable, ya? But then again, you should enjoy it, Sora. It's your birthday."

"Ha, ha! I guess so" Sora said. He sat with Riku and Kairi at one big booth. Selphie, Wakka and Tidus sat next to them. "What do they have to eat?" Sora asked.

"Nothing _you're_ used to" said Selphie. "This is a fancy place Sora. I've never seen you at anyplace more than a burger place."

"Well…yeah" said Sora. He could have told Selphie that he had eaten at plenty of exotic place in his travels across the universe, but decided against it. That would lead to a barrage of questions. A waiter in a silver tuxedo with moons and stars printed on the tie walked up to the table, and asked what they would like to order.

"I'd like the…" Sora said, confounded by the odd names on the menu. He coughed. I'd like water first" he said.

"I'd like the lemonade" said Kairi. Riku ordered water as well. Sora didn't pay attention to the things that the others ordered. He felt odd being around his old friends. They seemed less solid…less real. Riku and Kairi seemed like the only people in the "real" world at that moment. _It's not over_ Sora thought, and then blinked. What had he been thinking? Why was he feeling so strange? Sora wondered if he was getting sick.

The waiter came back with the water. "Now, master Sora…your order?" he asked.

"Umm….let's see…"Sora said. "I'd like the Cordon Blue Chicken?" Sora said. "Yeah that's it! The Cordon Blue Chicken!"

Once again, Sora didn't pay attention to what anyone else ordered. He sipped his water pensively. It tasted strange. Sweet, almost like flat cherry soda with a watery base.

"So how's summer school?" Tidus asked. "Mr. Harding's a jerk isn't he?"

"Of course he is!" Riku said. "He wants to 'spend more quality time with me'! Isn't that messed up?"

"You bet it is" said Kairi. She leaned back. "Sora, how do you like it---this restaurant I mean?"

Sora wasn't sure how to reply. He didn't _hate_ the place…it just gave him an odd feeling. The restaurant wasn't very crowded. There were groups of college kids in dark suits, but that was all.

"I…I just…I just…" Sora tried to say, but it was as if someone had tied a rubber robe around his tongue. It wouldn't make the sounds he needed for intelligent speech. Afraid, he clutched at his mouth, but even that was an effort…he seemed to be weakening. Sleepiness overcame Sora's mind and he plunged into blackness.

When Sora woke up, he was still sitting at the booth in the Vale, except that it was empty. He was no longer wearing his suit and tie. Instead he was wearing the magical outfit that the fairies had prepared for him in Yen Sid's tower.

"Riku! Kairi! Selphie? Wakka? Tidus? Someone!" Sora yelled. He didn't know why he was yelling. It just was that this place was _really_ beginning to creep him out now. It was dark now, and the stars and planets seemed to glimmer with cold light in the enchanted ceiling. Then, as Sora watched it, the lights began to wink out one by one. The stars disappeared.

"Wait!" Sora yelled. "Don't go! Don't leave me!" those little things were his only source of light. But they didn't listen to him at all. "Please!" he cried. Then he was left in almost absolute darkness.

"Hey kid" said a voice to his right. Sora almost jumped two feet in the air. Standing near him were the college kids who had been sitting at the other table.

"What is it?" Sora asked, relieved that there were other people here beside himself.

"Do you know the way out?" asked one of the boys, a big guy with a crew cut.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. "They way out is…." he trailed off as he saw that the door had become a solid wall of clear material. Utter darkness lay beyond.

"What's going on?" Sora cried out.

The answer from the college kids was more terrifying than anything Sora could have imagined. The group---about four of them---became four pillars of pure darkness. The dark energy joined together to become a Heartless. The terrible monster looked like a horse. It was red and green like a Christmas tree. Its yellow eyes rolled and bulged. A huge curved horn that looked like it was made out of clear crystal. The Heartless crest gleamed on its head.

"Oh…my…God…" Sora had time to say, before the Heartless launched a ball of dark energy at him. Then his warrior's instinct took over, and he jumped. The energy hit the booth, blowing it to bits.

The creature snarled in fury and stampeded toward him. Sora knew he wasn't going to be able to block its sharp horn. So he didn't. Summoning the Keyblade to his hand was as unconscious as breathing. Sparks and stars flew as the metal struck crystal and Heartless flesh. The creature gave a whinnying scream of hurt and hatred. Sora's keyblade slammed into its side and it screamed again. The sound made glasses on the bar explode. Sora channeled the Keyblade's power and he flipped into midair and hurled the weapon at the Heartless. It went down in an explosion of stars.

"Jeez, what's going _on?" _Sora cried. Then he heard another roar of rage. The Heartless had apparently not had enough. Sora faced it again. "I'm really getting tired of you" Sora said. He ran toward it again. But before he reached it, the monster staggered forward, hit from behind.

"Hey Sora!" said a familiar voice. Sora turned to see Goofy, Captain of the Royal Knights of Disney Castle. He held his familiar round shield in his hands.

"_Goofy?"_ Sora screamed. How was this possible? How could Goofy be here, on the Destiny Islands? Sora began to wonder if this whole thing was just some elaborate hallucination from whatever was in that water. He looked at Goofy and the horse Heartless. The happiness in his friend's face at seeing him seemed real enough. The mindless hunger for his heart in the Heartless' eyes and movements seemed all too real. But there was no time to think about that right now; if he didn't, Goofy was going to get creamed by that monstrosity. He waded into the fray again.

"Blizzard!" screamed a almost unintelligible voice. Sora wasn't surprised to see Donald Duck spray the monster with a blast of freezing ice. It went down for the final time. "Sora! We did it! We beat it" Donald said. The three friends watched the Heartless writhe on the ground as it became a pool of darkness. A large glowing heart emerged from the dark, signifying that this had been one of what Sora liked to call the Great Ones, Heartless of incredible power.

"Donald, Goofy!" Sora hugged them both. "What are you doing here? I've got so many questions!"

"You can ask them when you wake up" said Donald. "This is costing Merlin a fortune in magical energy!"

"What? I'm asleep?" Sora asked.

"Wake up Sora and we'll tell you" Goofy said. "The King wants to talk to you."

"What?" Sora said again, but this time he felt himself float up off the ground. "Ahhh! Where am I going?" Sora said.

_Don't worry about it_ said a voice, and Sora knew it was the voice of Roxas. _Just go with it. You'll see what happens when it happens._ Sora decided to listen to the voice and go with it. He closed his eyes, and floated through the barrier between sleep and wakefulness.


	4. The Alliance

**The Alliance**

Maleficent and Pete descended into the deepest levels of the Castle That Never Was.

"So which world _are_ we going to test it on?" Pete asked again.

"Not one" said Maleficent. "Not until I am satisfied with its powers."

Pete started to say more, but Maleficent held up her hand for silence. Pete obeyed and followed her into one of the rooms. It was a large place, complete with a hologram projector and all sorts of communications equipment. Pete recognized some of it. It must have been technology from Hollow Bastion that Xeonhort had stolen during his rebellion against Ansem the Wise. Maleficent went to one of these panels. This was _not_ a machine that was from Hollow Bastion. It was an invention of Maleficent's. It was an All-World Communicator. Maleficent had built one like it in Hollow Bastion so that she could spy on her enemies or communicate with her fellow conspirators. It was a magical object that could allow one to see whatever one wanted to in a certain world. It was very hard to detect. Theoretically, a person could cloak themselves from the device's all seeing eye, but that would take strength that not even the Keyblade Master possessed. At Hollow Bastion, the device had resembled a large stone table with odd runes written into it. Here, it was a large metal sphere that pulsed and shimmered with the green fire of Maleficent's magic. Maleficent laid her hand upon the sphere, and concentrated on the person she wanted to see. She did not wait long. Soon an image formed. It was a man in an elegant outfit and powdered wig. He wore a three-cornered hat, and appeared to be sitting at a desk. He also seemed to be on a ship, because the area he was in rocked back and fourth slightly.

"Ah, Maleficent" the man said. "I was waiting for you to contact me. I trust that Roman Numeral Thirteen is ready."

"Indeed it is" Maleficent said. "I only need to begin the testing."

"That is good. You spoke of testing it on worlds the last time we conversed." He took out a small piece of paper, read it, and put it back in the desk. "And I trust that Roman Numeral Thirteen will be devastatingly useful the East India Trading Company?"

"Quite useful, Lord Beckett" said Maleficent. "This creature has the power of several thousand heartless. Not to mention the dark powers that I awakened in my former apprentice Riku are increased a thousand fold in it already."

"I am overjoyed to know particulars" said Lord Beckett. "I will be even more overjoyed to see it in action." Then his image faded.

Maleficent concentrated again. This time it took longer for an image to appear. The witch's brow wrinkled in concentration. "Come on, Hades" she said irritably. "I _know_ you're there. Just because you happen to be a god doesn't mean that I can't feel you."

Finally Hades appeared, tall, black robed, hair flaming. "Hey, it's Maleficent" he said lightly.

"Enough with the games" Maleficent snapped. "I was trying to contact you! My experiment is ready."

"You mean your thirteenth one?" Hades asked, lounging back in his throne. "Can't you just give up this whole darkness-heartless-genetic engineering thing you've got going on? I mean, I have to tell you, the guys upstairs don't like it."

"You mean Zeus and his little pantheon?" Maleficent asked distractedly. "I couldn't care less. This is the edge of existence. Even the gods of your world couldn't affect me here."

"Maybe" said Hades. "But what if you go to far? Look, I'm just watching out for my own interests here. I can't have anything tall, dark, and horrible knocking on my door."

Maleficent vanished his image before he could say anymore. Fine then. He would come around eventually. And so would other. Oh, so many others.


	5. The Threat

**Section D **

Sora's first impression was white, lots of white. For a horrifying minute he thought he was back in the Castle That Never Was, but then he calmed himself. The white of the walls was not the faded, dead looking white of the Organization's stronghold. It was a cheerful bright white that was edged with blue and gold, giving relief to the eyes. Sora thought he knew where he was.

He was in Disney Castle.

"Thank the Light that you're awake Sora" said a gentle voice near him. Sora turned his head to see Queen Minnie, King Mickey's wife looking at him with concern.

"What happened?" Sora asked. He realized that he was lying on a soft blue sheeted bed in a room with many other beds in it. Several had patients in them. These were animal things like Minnie and Donald and Goofy as well. "Am I hurt? Did something happen to the Islands?" Sora demanded frantically. He thought that he would go mad if Minnie told him that his world had been destroyed. Not just from grief, but from sheer frustration. He had worked so _hard_ to save everyone! Why couldn't he have a little peace now and then?

"No, your Islands are safe, for now" Minnie said. "Nothing was harmed while you were under the influence of the Night Juice."

Sora didn't like the way she said "for now". There was also something else. Minnie was either upset or angry for some reason. Sora guessed that she was angry. But at who? What was going on? What was Night Juice, and why had it been used on him? Why had he been kidnapped from his birthday celebration? He wanted answers. Roxas had said to wait and see what happened, but Sora was impatient. Besides, it wasn't Roxas' decisions to make. It was _his_ body, and his was the dominant mind.

"What is going on?" Sora asked quietly. "Why did you kidnap me? Is something happening with the worlds again?"

Queen Minnie shook her head. "Sora…I can't really tell you what is going on. That's not my---" she was cut off by the infirmary doors being thrown open. Daisy Duck, Donald's girlfriend walked into the room, hands on her hips. She seemed to be in a bad temper of the highest order.

"Minnie, have you seen Donald? He and that…that…Merlin where going over some magical techniques together and they've been gone all day!"

Minnie gave Daisy a look. Daisy immediately became quiet as she saw that Sora was awake. Minnie had been blocking the bed.

"Sora!" Daisy said. She smiled at him. "Nice to see that you're awake. You were pretty bad by the time Merlin, and His Majesty got you here. We rushed you to the infirmary right away."

Sora flung his legs over the bed. "What _happened to me?_ Did I get hurt? What's happening now?" he demanded. Sora was slightly embarrassed to see that he was wearing nothing more than a thin gown, but his curiosity, bordering on the brink of anger was too focused to remain on that for long.

Finally Minnie sat down on one of the empty beds. "Sora" she explained. "You were not the only one taken from your world that night." Before Sora could interrogate further, she raised a white gloved hand. "Allow me to finish. Riku and Kairi were taken that night as well. As for why, I am afraid that a new threat---"

"Something _new_ is happening to the worlds?" Sora almost screamed, and then got control of himself again. "Sorry" he said. "It's just that…I…"

"I understand" said Queen Minnie, but Sora could have said that she didn't understand at all. She didn't understand how it was to be in danger, standing between a madman's dreams of an empire of the soulless, and an unsuspecting mass of citizenry. Being the targets of entities so powerful that you could _feel_ it baking off them. Seeing your world destroyed. The closest Disney Castle had come to being destroyed was the Cornerstone of Light fiasco. That was all. So no, she didn't understand, _couldn't_ understand. But Sora said none of these things, because they occurred so briefly in his mind that he didn't actually have the time to voice them.

"Not precisely" said Queen Minnie. "Nothing is _happening_ to the worlds. But there is a very clear threat that something _might_ happen to them if we do not move quickly."

"What do you mean?" said Sora, but he was afraid he did. Memories of Maleficent and Pete's "last stand" at the Alter of Naught came drifting back to him. It was only Shadows! And while Maleficent said she was having trouble controlling the powerful dark forces rampant in that in-between world, how much of that had been true, and how much of it was a big lie? Sora groaned and put his head in his hands.

"It's her isn't it? Maleficent. She's not through."

"No, she's not" said Daisy. "We don't know exactly what she's up to, but we do know that it's something big. Hardly any information on it though. Pete _has_ been seen in several worlds though. The Land of the Dragons, Deep Jungle, Radiant Garden. He's been gathering things Sora. The King _thinks_ that Maleficent might create some kind of weapon, that or some giant Heartless."

"How is that possible?" Sora asked.

"There was a lot of advanced technology both within the Hollow Bastion ruins, and even more within the lair of Organization XIII" said Queen Minnie gravely. "If Pete has been salvaging these things from those places and if he and Maleficent have been left undisturbed by anyone for an entire year…" she shivered. "It makes me ill to think what kind of twisted monster they may have created, or what powerful weapon they have made."

"Can't be any more powerful than the Sister Ray that Cloud told me about once" said Sora. "So you're saying that we should go over to the World That Never Was and kick their butts." Sora thought about when he, Donald and Goofy had fought Maleficent and Pete. Pete was a pushover. Maleficent, while slightly more powerful, was too reliant on her magic and had been blinded by arrogance and her assurance that she could defeat them easily. That was a mistake that she would not make again.

"There you are Sora" said a voice near the door. Sora turned to see King Mickey himself followed by Merlin. The old wizard tipped his hat to the Keyblade Master.

"Why it's good to see you again, boy" said Merlin. He lowered his eyes to the floor. "I'm afraid I must apologize for…well…tainting you water with that Night Juice it was a dreadful business, but I'm afraid it had to be done."

"Have you filled him in?" Mickey asked his wife. Minnie nodded. She stared at Merlin in silence.

_She's angry with him for giving me that stuff _Sora thought. _I guess I should be too, seeing as it _was_ me who had that weird vision and passed out…but somehow I don't feel like it._

"So Sora, what do you say?" said King Mickey. "We're counting on you. Donald and Goofy will come with you too." The King looked at Sora and sighed. "I promise Sora" he said. "I would not have called you here like this if there had been any other way. But we suspected that you would not come if we asked you. So…our methods."

"I guess I understand" Sora said. "But what about Riku and Kairi? Where are they? Is…is Kairi worried about me?"

"They're staying in the Guest Wing of the Castle, but I don't think---" Sora ran past Mickey and into the hallway, his gown flapping behind him.

"Wait!" the King called, but Sora was already past that hallway. Oh well.

Kind of an odd way to end a chapter, but it was pretty informative. What is Maleficent's mysterious experiment?


	6. Tine

"**Tine" **

Maleficent and Pete entered the room where the project's main workings were conducted. This room was once used for the draining of human hearts so that they could be turned into manufactured Heartless. More of Ansem/Xeonhort's nightmarish machinery. Pete couldn't understand any of it anyway. Inside the room, machines hummed and hissed, burbled and sighed. Some glowed with strange gasses and liquids inside. Others sat silent, silver and menacing. There were only two machines within the room that Pete could understand perfectly. One was the nutrient tanks. These tanks were filled with a clear nutrient solution that was essential for the developing being's growth. The tanks were made of red glass so that when the fluid ran out, they would turn red. The second was the Dark Tanks. These were a little more complicated. These were filled with a heavy, sludgy solution that was secreted by the Heartless. It was called Dark Ichor. It could be found in small trace quantities in places where the Heartless swarmed. Maleficent had, however, managed to produce the gunk by artificially simulating the energy conditions that Heartless were attracted to. She had first gathered a small group of about a hundred Heartless from the city below the castle. And who had gathered these specimens? Why, Pete himself. Inside the room it was a mass of pipes and humming machinery. At the center of the mechanical maelstrom, a large coffinlike tank sat. It _was _shaped like a glass coffin, a coffin over seven feet high. Its glass was five feet thick. What its original purpose might have been, neither of them were sure. But Maleficent thought that it was a suitable container for the being that they were going to try and grow. The coffin was connected to a maze of pipes and hoses. Nutrient fluid, smelling strongly of rotted carrots lay in puddles beneath some of them. It was hard to clean up the thousands of leaks that sprung daily. The Dark Tanks pumped the essence of the Heartless into whatever was growing inside the coffin. Pete couldn't see what was growing inside. It was shrouded in a cocoon of its own darkly glowing energy. That was probably merciful. But, before one could get inside access to the wonders within the room, there were a number of security systems that needed to be passed. When Pete had insisted that this was foolish, that there was no one but themselves to go in and out, Maleficent had glared at him so coldly that he was surprised that he didn't just drop dead, covered with frost. So the systems went in, and Pete had installed them. There was a retina scanner, and a fingerprint analyzer along with a voice and speech pattern recognition machine. Pete had stolen these from Hollow Bastion while the busy bees of the Restoration Committee had been preoccupied with some disaster or other. It had been easy; the machines had been working and Pete merely had to weld here, and splice wires there.

"And it is ready" said Maleficent as the double doors hissed open. They both stared at their month of work. It hadn't all been beautiful. Twelve months in a year. Each month, Maleficent had struggled to produce one of her creations, trying to build it into the ultimate Heartless. She had read up on volumes of books on genetic engineering, written by someone named Vexen. Maleficent wasn't sure if the Heartless had genetics like humans, so she took no chances. She instructed Pete to kidnap a child each month, she didn't care what world. She took a sample of blood and sent the child back through the Dark Corridor---whether to their world, or to oblivion, it made no difference to her. But the setbacks had been many. Some of the creations had been absolute monsters. Others had been possessed of a kind of basic intelligence. But what they gained in mind, they lost in body. They had been weak and died after a few days. One lasted a week before finally dying of pneumonia. Pete had been crushed. Maleficent had been furious. She had read that this Vexen, who was apparently a member of Organization XIII, had managed to produce a perfect clone of Riku. The clone had possessed the power to control the darkness. But, Vexen speculated, that was most likely that the darkness power had become so a part of Riku that it was ingrained into his very DNA. Maleficent's creations were horribly flawed. But progress had been made. And now Maleficent knew that this would be the one that would live. How she knew this she didn't know. She thought perhaps it was the fact that this was the thirteenth one. It would live…and not only that, it would live to be her tool to gain dominance over the worlds. Maleficent strode over to the coffin. The object was suspended twelve feet above the floor. At the base, a control panel glimmered with lights. The metal itself was lit from within with that twisting green fire. Maleficent began to work on the control panel, her long red nails clicking on the controls. "It is all coming together" the witch said breathlessly. "My destiny is going to unfold before me."

"Ah…what _does_ that do anyway?" Pete asked. "Does it control the coffin thingamajig?"

Maleficent whirled around as if she had forgotten that Pete was even there. She probably had. "It controls what it needs to control" she hissed. "And if I even _suspect_ that you have been tampering with these controls, I will personally turn you into a Heartless and you can keep company with _them" _she gestured to the Heartless inside the Dark Tanks. Then she turned her attention back to the glowing panel. Maleficent turned knobs, pushed buttons, pulled levers. There was the sound of hydraulic pulleys as the coffin thing descended to their level.

"I will now drain a portion of the fluid from the holding container" Maleficent said. She pulled a lever. A bit of nutrient fluid back up into the tanks, sending the small drips from the pipes into small geysers of rotten smelling liquid.

Pete, who had never actually seen this process, was stunned by the complexity of it. The fluid had gone down, leaving the top of the coffin empty. Pete couldn't see anything through a layer of foggy condensation. "Is that all?" he asked.

"That is all for now" Maleficent said. "I will be back in two hours time to finish the preparations for Roman Numeral Thirteen. It will be the biggest tine of the trident I use to stab the forces of King Mickey."

Pete could agree with that, yeah he could second _that_ emotion, after all the boat boy king had trapped him in another dimension, one where he was forced to participate with alternate versions of Goofy (who had a family) and usually get into all sorts of stupid situations. It was only Maleficent's timely rescue that had kept him from going mad. Secretly, he thought that that was _exactly _what Mickey wanted to have happen. And now ol' Pete was working for the side that was going to kick Mickey's light-wielding butt.

"…to clean up the mess" said Maleficent.

"Oh, sorry, what was that?" Pete asked. He had been so busy in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard his liege-lady's words at all.

"I said that I trust you to clean up the mess that our process has made" Maleficent said. She had already opened the door to the room. She paused and turned to him. "Oh, and Pete…do remember what I said about the control panel. I _will_ turn you into a Heartless if I think that you've touched it." With that, the doors slammed shut behind her. Pete removed a mop from a small closet in the wall.

"Doesn't think I can't follow the rules" he muttered. "Of course I can! Why I was the Captain of the Royal Knights! If anyone can follow rules it's ol' Pete!" he began to mop, unintentionally moving closer and closer to the control panel. It was so…mysterious with its flashing lights and knobs, and the way it was lit from within with Maleficent's power.

_Touch me Pete _it called. _Pull my levers! Mash my buttons! I'm game! I _love _it when people work on me! I'm a control panel for Darkness' sake!_

"No" Pete muttered to himself. "Can't touch…Heartless" he tore his gaze away from the temptress presence that lived within the machinery. But the voice wouldn't leave. _Oh, come on. Do you think that Maleficent will do that to you? of course not! Don't be such a _baby!_ She needs you to do menial labor. Can you imagine Maleficent carrying heavy loads! God forbid!_

"Forbid…" Pete whispered, more than half hypnotized now. The mop fell to the floor unnoticed. Pete lurched to the control panel. It looked so _beautiful _with its inner light. Pete peered at the controls. Most of them where beyond his understanding…but one of them jumped out at him. It said downloading. A small screen displayed information. The screen went like this:

Maleficent: Mother, Supreme Being

Pete: Underling, second in command

Sora: Pawn of the Light existence---he must die

Mickey: Enemy of All Existence---he must die

Pete understood suddenly that this information was being downloaded into the developing brain of the creature in the coffin. Pete typed the keyboard a few times. More information popped up. Bright blue words saying Self Awareness Package streamed across the plasma screen:

Name: XIII

Age: 0

Purpose in life: Fulfillment of Mother's wishes

Appalled, Pete realized that this was what this creature was going to spring from the coffin believing, _knowing. _Pete felt a wave of sympathy for it. He then made his decision. This thing was like a newborn baby, except that its destiny was mapped out for it already. Mapped out by someone who didn't care if it died or lived, as long as it served its purpose? Pete found that he couldn't let that stand. He didn't understand. Here he was, risking a fate worse than death all for something that wasn't even human, or humanlike. Was this…kindness? He hoped not. Kindness would have no place in Maleficent's universe. He began to type. Perhaps it was not too late. Pete scrolled down to the purpose in life. He erased the words. Then he considered the age. Well, Sora was going to be sixteen. It would be fitting for him to die at the hands of someone his own age, right? He switched the age to sixteen. Then he considered a name. Thirteen just wouldn't do. He racked his brains, but he couldn't concentrate on finding a name. He kept expecting Maleficent to burst into the room, and scream at him. She would point her staff, glowing with green fire and he would feel a terrible ripping sensation as he heart was ripped from his chest by her terrible magic. But nothing happened. Then he remembered what Maleficent had said. "It will be the biggest tine on the trident I will stab King Mickey's forces with."

"Tine" he said. "Your name is Tine. Whatever you are, your name is Tine. Can you hear me?" he asked. There was no answer, only the sounds of the machines. It got kind of lonely in here, he realized, with only the frigid and avaricious Maleficent for company. It would be nice to have a new face around here, especially now that it was not going to be a mindless automaton. And who knew? Maybe having a more…_normal_ person around would change even Maleficent's cold, dark heart. Pete made sure to cover his tracks, returning the screen to its original state. He was quite clever he thought. He opened the doors and left to get some sleep.

What he didn't see was the eye that opened in the coffin.

Ohhhhhhh! Creepy isn't it! What has that fool Pete gone and done?!


	7. Things Get Bad

**Things Get Bad**

For the next two hours, Pete worried about what Maleficent would find when she came back from…whatever she was doing. She was probably working on some other magical spell to take over the worlds. Did she ever think about _anything_ else? He paced back and fourth in his room. It was an alright place, except for the flame graffiti that someone had sprayed on the walls. It had belonged to someone named "Axel". Probably a member of Organization XIII. They all had those funny names. It was weird. Otherwise, the room had a comfortable bed, and a TV. The TV was the only thing that was really of much entertainment here. Other than working on his fighting skills. Maleficent urged that he do that. He didn't see _her _working on her magic, but then again, she had more important things on her mind.

"Pete! Pete where are you?" screamed Maleficent through the intercom.

"I'm right here!" Pete yelled through it, his heart in his throat. She would have entered the control room now, yes, she would have seen what he had done to the panel…

"Two hours have passed. I wish to test the power of Roman Numeral Thirteen."

"Tine" Pete muttered to himself, but Maleficent didn't hear it. Pete ran down the stairs to the control room. By the time he got there, Maleficent was already waiting impatiently for him at the double doors. After using the scanners, they went inside. The machines were now silent, the place was dark. Maleficent clapped her hands and the lights went on. She then went over to the control panel.

_Wait! I did it! I touched it! _Pete almost burst out, but he kept those in. There would be no mercy if he screamed it out now. The coffin seemed to be different. The thing inside was still wrapped in a cocoon of energy, but the energy seemed to be darker…less bright than it had been before. Maleficent nodded at this, seeming to take this as proof that Thirteen would be more powerful than the others.

Pete looked from a few feet away. He knew that if Maleficent checked the panel, she would see the information had been rewritten. He would never have a chance to get away, but it helped his peace of mind to stand near the doors.

Maleficent didn't even glance at the screen. She pulled more levers and pushed more buttons. The monitors on the wall indicated that Roman Numeral Thirteen's breathing and heartbeat was still machine controlled. It was time to turn off that control and see if their pet had the strength that Maleficent wanted. She pushed the buttons that would turn off the machines, at the same time giving a powerful electric shock that would start the heart and breathing. Well, start the physical heart. The spiritual heart would never exist for this creature. A single spark of electricity, the size of a bolt of lightning sizzled into the coffin. It made the remaining fluid boil, and inside the confinement, something began to move.

"Behold the power of the Heartless!" Maleficent said, her robes billowing about her, her body shining with an aura of green light. The witch was in her element now, and she could not be stopped. She was still laughing when the eyes opened within the mist inside the coffin, and it was the sight of those eyes that stopped Maleficent cold.

The eyes were green, they were fearless, they were hard, and they were brave. There was no mercy in them. _They were Aurora's eyes. _Aurora. That little brat of a princess whom everyone had made such a fuss about, and then had _dared_ to not invite _her_ to the girl's christening? Oh, Maleficent had been furious. She supposed that her biggest weakness had always been her large ego. She had not died but had been banished and found a home in Disney Castle. Only to be banished from there after a few years. The eyes were different; Aurora's had been brown, these were green, but it was the _look_ in them that made her back up. At the same time this happened, the coffin began to crack and splinter, the thick glass breaking like cheap plastic.

"Wh…what's goin' on?" Pete said in a small scared voice he had pressed every inch of his body against the doors, his armor scratching the paint.

Maleficent did not respond. Tendrils of darkness wove their way out through the cracks. Then the coffin exploded, sending shards of thick glass everywhere. It punctured machinery, ruptured tanks, sending cascades of fluid onto the floor, and whirls of electricity everywhere.

_Free. _

The words were not spoken aloud, but Pete could hear them as clear as day. They were spoken in his mind. The cocoon of darkness was unraveling itself…at the same time that it drew inward. When it was completely gone, Maleficent gave a sharp intake of breath and leaned against a nearby pipe. Pete remained standing unassisted, but still was unable to suppress a small squeak of surprise.

The thing that stood in front of them was not a monster at all. It was a pale girl seemingly sixteen years old. Her red hair spilled to her shoulders. She had a long, straight nose, and reddish lips. She seemed to have made clothes for herself using the darkness power, as Maleficent's apprentice Riku had done. It was a black shirt and jeans torn out at the knees. The black shirt bore a silver Heartless insignia. She was actually quite beautiful. Beautiful yet deadly. The Shadows in the Dark Tanks were crashing mindlessly against the glass, though in fear, happiness, or love, Pete couldn't tell.

"I'm free" she said. Her voice seemed to be normal enough. Yet there was something under it…

"Roman Numeral Thirteen" Maleficent said. Apparently she had regained her composure. "I am relieved to see that you survived your tank birth. She looked at the destroyed coffin, and Pete saw her swallow. "You will now accompany me to my office. I trust my download of information gave you an idea of who I am?"

The girl grinned, showing evenly spaced white teeth. "I don't know who you're calling 'Roman Numeral', hag" she said. "But my name's Tine, not a number. I don't _have_ to follow what you say."

Maleficent looked so surprised that she could not say anything for a moment. Then she glared at the girl with the same coldness that she had used on Pete many times over. "I didn't _ask_ what you wanted to do, Thirteen. I gave you an _order_. An order is to be obeyed, and if you do not obey me, I will punish you in an extremely painful way." She then seemed to think of something else. "I am your mother! You _must_ do what I say."

Tine shrugged. "So what? You're my mother? I don't have to do anything. I want to be free. This darkness power is interesting. So's the Keyblade Master. I think I'll see what he's like."

"I say you won't" said Maleficent stepping forward. Pete couldn't believe that this was happening. This was his fault! If he hadn't been seized by that sudden urge of kindness, then this wouldn't be happening. Oh well, he consoled himself. Maleficent would teach this little brat a lesson, and then she would do whatever her mistress said. Probably grudgingly, but she would do them.

Maleficent pointed her staff at Tine's chest. "A bolt of lighting that scores the crimson heavens, strike her!" she cried in an echoing voice. The air began to gather static electricity. Pete's fur stood on end, and so did Tine's hair.

"Ohhh, what's this?" she asked mockingly. "Don't hurt me with the scary lightning, Mother!"

A bolt of crimson lighting struck from the ceiling and hit Tine dead on. There was an explosion of energy and a powerful clap of thunder that sent Peter flying into a wall. Maleficent stood impassively through the entire process. "I think _that_ should be enough of a punishment for you, Roman Numeral Thirteen" she said. "Beg my forgiveness, and I won't strike you again."

"Why should I?" Tine's voice asked from within the smoke. She stood, perfectly unharmed. A shield of blue energy protected her from the blast. She cancelled it, and took a few steps toward them, her sneakers clattering on the rubble strewn floor.

"What do we do, Maleficent?" Pete asked frantically. "What do we do?"

"I…I'm not sure" Maleficent said a bit shakily, and Pete realized that she was afraid. This was not supposed to happen. This was a disaster. They had indeed created something of great power, but that thing was out of control. It was a loose cannon that should not be free in the universe.

"We have to kill her---it---now!" Maleficent screamed. "Meteors of Heaven!" Maleficent screamed. Pete ran for cover. He knew what she was going to do. "Unleash thy fury!" the wall behind opened into space. Huge blue meteors, glowing with fire flew from the hole in the space/time continuum and aimed at Tine. The experiment gave another wild grin and teleported away from them. She then formed a large black sword out of nothing but pure dark energy. She used it to shatter the Dark Tank. Immediately the Heartless inside surged toward her.

"No!" Maleficent cried. "Stay away from her!" but they paid her no mind. The monsters allied with whoever was strongest. And Tine was smack in the middle of that category. The Shadows were instantly vaporized into dark energy. Tine absorbed the energy into herself. It streamed into the girl's hands and chest, filling the empty place inside where a heart should reside. She laughed wildly in pleasure. Then she vanished---and reappeared in front of Maleficent. It was only Maleficent's raised staff that prevented her from being sliced in half. _Oh, Darkness_ she thought as the heavy black blade buried itself in the wood. _Not like this. Please not like this. _

"I'm not going to kill you" Tine said. "You're too pathetic." She turned away.

"Naïve little wretch!" Maleficent snarled. She shot a beam of pure green fire at the girl's back. "Never turn your back on your enemy!"

Tine whirled around with inhuman speed and caught the beam in one hand. It winked out. Tine examined her hand. The palm was a little singed, but that was all---and already it was beginning to heal. "Don't make me kill you" she said in an offhand voice. Then she opened a Dark Corridor. "I think I'll visit some of these worlds you put in my head" she said. Then she was gone.

Maleficent got to her feet slowly. She was still shaking from the shock of what had happened. The laboratory lay in ruins. Machines smoked and sputtered. Fluid lay in puddles feet deep. The hem of her robes was soaked with the nasty stuff. Pete lay in the corner cowering in fear. When she touched him, he jumped.

"Oh, oh it's you Maleficent" he said. He glanced around feverishly. "Is it gone?" he asked.

"It's gone" Maleficent said grimly. "But it will not get away. I will not prove Hades right!" She went around, examining machines with avid curiosity. "What could have gone wrong?" she muttered. "What could have gone wrong?!" then her hand touched something. It was the main control panel. It was tougher than the others, and it was protected by magic. It had only born minor dents and scratches in the madness. She looked at its cracked plasma screen. Typing in Information she came upon something that made her so angry that she saw red, and the world titled for a minute. But when she spoke, her voice was deadly sweet.

"Why Peter" she said. "Come here."


	8. Riku's rage and the coming of the Dark

**Riku's Rage, and the coming of the Dark **

Sora, Riku, and Kairi wandered the elaborate gardens of Disney Castle. It was nighttime and the stars could be brightly seen in the black sky.

"So Maleficent is still at it" Riku said through gritted teeth. "I want to come with you, and kick that witch's ass!"

Sora sighed. He had explained already to his two friends that he didn't want them to accompany him to the World That Never Was. It was just too dangerous, and he didn't want to lose them again. Kairi had agreed readily enough. She had been kidnapped by Maleficent's Heartless, but she had been a vegetable at the time. Unlike Riku, who had been tricked into selling his soul to the dark side, she had no grudge against the sorceress.

"Riku, just let it go" said Kairi. "I know she did some pretty bad things to you, but---"

"Yeah, yeah she did" Riku said, his voice rising in anger. "But you _weren't there, and neither were you Sora! You don't know what it's like, hating yourself every day when you think about what you did back then! I do!" _

Silence followed this outburst. "The only person who I really ever told how I felt about it was King Mickey. He told me that I have to believe that I could be better than that."

"But you _were_!" Kairi insisted. "Look what you sacrificed for us! You gave up your original form, and didn't know how to get it back! Riku, you don't get much better than that, unless you're a freakin' god!"

Riku was silent. Then he began to walk into a leafy archway, hands in his pockets. "I need something" Riku said. "I need a purpose to fight for. Beating that nutcase Xemnas was _your_ cause Sora. I only came along for the ride. Don't get me wrong" he said, as Sora started to speak. "It's just…I need something _I_ can do for the worlds all by myself…maybe then I'll be able to have a little peace. It's that---" suddenly, he broke off, and clutched a hand to his chest. Riku staggered to his knees.

_"Riku!" _Kairi screamed. She ran over to him. "Sora, help me, do something, he's having a heart attack, get Donald, the King or someone---"

"I…I'm fine" Riku gasped. "I'm not having a heart attack…or at least not the kind you think."

"Then what _kind _of attack are you having?" Sora asked impatiently.

"There's…there's something out there" Riku said, looking up at the night sky. "A powerful darkness…it's raging…uncontrolled…I think it came from Maleficent."

"From her?" Kairi asked. She looked up at the sky, as if she could see what her friend was talking about. Unconsciously, her Keyblade, Welcoming Garden, materialized. Kairi was still having trouble about controlling when it appeared. It came in times of high stress. Once, it had appeared in the middle of a science test, and Kairi had gotten sent home for carrying a weapon. Sora was still trying to teach her to teach the sword to appear when she called it. She gripped its flowery handle so hard that her hand began to bleed.

"It's still far away" Riku panted. "But it's coming…I don't know anything more. I must be insanely powerful though…it's like nothing I've felt before…this thing isn't a Heartless, or a Nobody…it's a monster. Sorry" he said, seeing their pale faces. "I don't mean to scare you, but it's true. This wasn't naturally created. Someone manufactured this evil."

_There was a lot of advanced technology both within the Hollow Bastion ruins, and even more within the lair of Organization XIII _Queen Minnie had said. _If Pete has been salvaging these things from those places and if he and Maleficent have been left undisturbed by anyone for an entire year…It makes me ill to think what kind of twisted monster they may have created, or what powerful weapon they have made. _ Sora shivered unconsciously. Suddenly the sky looked a whole lot less pretty.

Sora and his friends walked back into the entrance of the castle. In the light they felt better. Kairi and Sora were supporting Riku who was still weak from the attack that he had experienced.

"Hi Sora, what's---oh, gosh!" said Goofy as he saw Riku's condition. In the darkness outside, Riku had looked bad. In the bright light of the Castle, he looked terrible. His face was pale and tired looking and there were dark circles under his eyes. Goofy hurried over with a rattle of his ceremonial armor. He picked Riku up easily, and motioned for Kairi and Sora to follow. "We've gotta get Riku to infirmary, quick" he said, already going down the hall.

"What do you think is going on?" Kairi asked Sora.

"I don't know" Sora said. But he thought he did. Maleficent had launched her attack on them, finally. She had sent her experiment to destroy them, destroy _him. _Well, if that was the way she wanted to play, then he was going to play the game. He was going to play it to win.

"Where am I?" Riku asked when he was finally allowed to talk.

"You're in the infirmary" said Sora. He, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi were gathered around the bed.

"I'm fine" Riku said. "It's just…it was a surprise, that's all."

"Just sit down!" Donald snapped. "You were hurt pretty badly, Riku."

"I guess I should" Riku said. _Never disobey a chronically angry duck _he thought.

"I came as soon as I heard" said King Mickey coming in. "What happened, Riku?" Mickey asked.

"Your Majesty" Riku said. "I sensed something. It was powerful, it was a monster. Like a Heartless but it was brimming over with the darkness power."

Mickey's brow furrowed in a rare frown. "Darkness power, this close to the Castle? Should I put the Guard on alert?"

Riku shook his head. "It's not that close. I could sense it here because it was so powerful. I could also sense that it was uncontrolled. It came from the World That Never Was. Maleficent's doing I think."

Mickey's frown deepened. "Then the Guard will be put on full alert. Goofy!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Goofy said, saluting sharply.

"I want you to tell the Guards to be on the watch for anything suspicious. If they do see anything, they are to report it to me." He sighed. "It's just as well that you, Donald, and Sora are going on your journey now."

"Why can't we just take a Dark Corridor to the World That Never Was?" asked Sora. He wanted to get this mission over with as soon as possible. Then he could return to his summer vacation.

"We can't use the Dark Corridor because Maleficent has used her power over darkness to seal the ones to that where shut. If you did try to open it, then you would be lost forever."

"How do you know this?" asked Kairi.

Donald looked away from her, Goofy sighed, and King Mickey shuddered. "We tried to send in a strike force earlier last year to stop her" he said, a catch in his voice. "We opened a Dark Corridor and they went in. They never came out. After that, Merlin explained how the ways in the Realm of Darkness can be shut by magic."

"That's horrible!" Kairi exclaimed. "What happened to those soldiers? Did they become Heartless?"

"We don't know" said King Mickey. "They might have become Heartless, they might have been wiped from existence, or they could have been marooned on another world far away from here. Anything could have happened."

"Then we'll have to get there the hard way, won't we" Sora said firmly. "Right, Donald, Goofy?"

"Right!" they agreed. So it was decided. The trio walked out of the infirmary, toward the Gumi ship dock. So it began again.


	9. The Shadow Falls

**The Shadow Falls **

The Gumi ship took off into space. Sora, who was still sour over his lost summer break, was once again awed and surprised by its beauty. It was filled with stars and planets that could all be reached with the help of the ship.

"Were do we go first?" Sora asked.

"We've got to go to Radiant Garden first" Donald explained. "Merlin has some new tricks for us."

"Okay" said Sora. "It'll be cool to see Leon and the others again. We can even see if Tifa found Cloud."

The ship sped toward Radiant Garden. With Donald driving, they rocked back and fourth.

"Slow down, Donald!"Goofy cried.

Sora finally took the controls from a protesting Donald after they avoided a comet by mere inches, leaving one wing blackened and slightly melted. Soon after that, the world where it all began appeared in sight. Sora held the control down, and they went through the atmosphere, clouds rippling around the ship.

"Radiant Garden's changed a lot" Goofy said.

"Did they repair the town?" Sora asked.

"Did they ever!" Goofy said. "It's a city now, and Leon and the others---"

"Don't tell him!" Donald said, hitting Goofy over the head with his staff. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Yowch! Did you have to hit so hard Donald?" Goofy complained, rubbing his head where his usual hat was perched.

Sora began to laugh. He couldn't help it. As annoyed as he was, it was good to see his old comrades-in-arms again.

When they cleared the clouds, Sora gasped. The struggling slum town of Radiant Garden had been more than returned to its former glory. A small, bustling city lay at the base of an enormous castle. It was built on the same structure of rootlike pipes that had supported the old one, but these pipes were shiny and new, silver and not brown with rust. The castle was made of elegant white marble veined with reds and blues and occasionally greens. It was taller than the old one, and nobler looking. The broken and fissured stone of the Postern and all of the other places had been replaced. The houses looked shiny and fresh. While one might see an abandoned one here or there, all of them looked great. The place had a hangar for Gumi ships, and that was where Sora headed.

"This is unbelievable" Sora breathed as he landed in the stable for the ships. "They accomplished this in one year?"

"Yep" said Goofy. "Leon and the Restoration Committee are big shots now. They're the Ruling Body."

Sora's head whirled. Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid the rulers of Radiant Garden? It was a big mouthful to swallow. Still, it was good to be here. Though it must be around eight o'clock at night, the perpetually pink and sunless sky was still well lit. As they walked into the cobblestone streets, Sora saw that they were crowded with people. Before, they had been almost deserted; the people afraid to come out of their houses for fear that the Heartless would come and attack them. Now, that fear had passed. The Heartless had not been seen in Radiant Garden in over a year. Now the people could rest easy that they dark monsters would never trouble them again.

"Let's go find Merlin" said Donald. "We've got to hurry!"

"Okay" said Sora, staring at the wonders around him. Shops lit with neon signs were everywhere. He hurried after his two friends. He looked and saw some odd looking people in armor, standing around. A sign of a bird surrounded by gears was on the chest plate.

"Oh, those" Donald said. "Those are the Bastion Knights. They protect the city and get criminals. Now come on!" he snapped impatiently.

On top of the wall overlooking the Marketplace, Tine appeared. She tossed her red hair away from her face. She could feel the Keyblade Master here. It was almost like she could smell him, except with her head. She could feel his Light power.

"Well, well, well" she said out loud. "Now how am I going to get that little brat to come to me?" It wasn't that she couldn't find Sora herself. Her powers over the darkness were immense. She was just too lazy to look for him, though she would do that if she had to. She had been created to kill the Keyblade Master, and, although she hated that vile hag who called itself her "Mother", she was bound to do it. She _wanted _to do it. Then, the universe was her oyster. She could do whatever she wanted. One of the Bastion Knights walked over and saw a strange sight. A red haired girl was committing two offenses. One, she was sitting on the wall over the Marketplace. It was off limits for reasons that one could fall. The second offense was more serious. She was wearing a shirt with the forbidden symbol on it! How could any self respecting citizen of Radiant Garden wear something so…so…monstrous?!

"You there! Girl!" he called, running up to her. He pointed his sword at her. "Get down off that wall immediately, before I come up and get you! Are you nuts, going around wearing a shirt with the Heartless sign on it! I should arrest you, but I won't. Your parents though, are going to hear about this. This isn't the frontier days before the Reconstruction! Get off that wall I said!"

While the man was shouting himself hoarse, Tine was looking at him, wearing a Cheshire Cat grin. "Are you talking to _me_, officer?" she asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh, a wise one, eh?" he said. "Alright then, we'll try option two." He began to climb up toward her. He then noticed something very odd. The girl's hand was enveloped in an aura of darkness. Suddenly the Knight realized that this was much more than an ordinary miscreant. This was something that called for backup. He pulled out a walkie talkie from his belt. "Ah, I've got a situation here at the Marketplace wall---" his voice was cut off by a gurgle as Tine plunged her hand into his chest, through his armor as if it were paper. He shrieked in pain as she pulled out his heart. It drifted into the air and disappeared. Perhaps a Nobody would come from it. A Heartless, a Neo-Shadow, formed from the darkness that consumed his body. It danced and shook in front of her.

"Heartless" Tine said. In a flash of dark energy, more than seventy Neo-Shadows stood around her. "Cause all the trouble you can" she whispered. "Take all hearts you see. Ruin this city." The Heartless began to stream into the Marketplace. Soon screams began to echo up to her. Tine took the fallen Knight's walkie talkie. In a perfect imitation of the man's voice, she said into it "Hello! Hello! I need back up here! Is the Keyblade Master here? We need him here! Ahhhh!" Tine threw the device onto the ground and crushed it with her sneaker. That should do it.


	10. Sora vs 13 Prt I

**Sora vs. #13 Prt. I **

Sora, Donald, and Goofy headed through the streets of Radiant Garden.

"So" said Sora, trying to make conversation. "_Are_ there any criminal forces here?"

"Oh, you bet" said Goofy. "There's Xavier's Flyer's they're the worst!"

"Who're they---" Sora was about to ask, but he was cut off by a loud, whirring alarm.

"Sounds like trouble he said. "Is this what happens when criminals atta---"once again he was cut off as a claw slashed his back. "Ahh!" Sora cried out in pain and staggered forward. He whirled around to block another attack by a Neo-Shadow. Sparks glanced off the Keyblade.

"Heartless!" Donald cried in alarm. It was true. They were surrounded by Heartless. They were Neo-Shadows all of them. They could hear screams of people in the houses and the Marketplace.

"Where're they comin' from?" Goofy asked. He smashed a Neo-Shadow across the chest with his shield, destroying the Heartless.

"How should I know?" Sora said, swinging the Keyblade to keep the monsters at bay. Suddenly, the Keyblade began to glow with white and blue light. It vibrated sharply, sending pain up Sora's arm. "Wha---?" he gasped. "Something's happening!" he called to Donald and Goofy who were embattled with the dark armies surging from the archways and walls.

Suddenly, a Neo-Shadow knocked Sora to the ground. Before he could move, more of them pinned him down. "Oh no" Sora muttered, trying to get free of their grasp. He could feel the cold of the dark places where the sun did not shine, radiating from their bodies. He rolled and struggled, but it was no use. Then, there was a huge flash of orange light and explosions that Sora felt burn some of the hair on his head. Three of the Neo-Shadows were annihilated by it. The remaining Heartless' confusion was enough for Sora to finish them. He looked to see who had saved them.

"Merlin!" he cried. The old wizard was standing outside his house. He raised his wand again, and a majority of the Heartless besieging Donald and Goofy were killed as well.

"Get inside, quickly!" Merlin yelled from the doorway. "I don't know how long I can hold them off!"

Sora knocked another Neo-Shadow out of the way and headed toward the house. Donald and Goofy did the same, Donald covering their escape with occasional bursts of magic. When they got inside, Merlin slammed the door and locked it. "Good!" he said. "They can't appear inside the house."

"Why not?" asked Sora.

"Maleficent isn't the only one who knows how to put wards on dwellings" said Merlin grimly. "Now sit down."

"Alright" Sora said. He struggled with the Keyblade which was still making a fuss. It was almost as if there was a Keyhole nearby, but Sora had sealed all those during his first mission. Why was it vibrating and glowing like that?

"What's going on?" Donald said, but not in his usual impatient voice.

"What's going on is that the citizens of Radiant Garden are being attacked by Heartless" said Merlin, pulling at his beard. "But how, I have no idea. This world has been sealed from them. I made sure of it myself when I helped the Restoration Committee!"

"Maybe they just passed through?" suggested Goofy.

"No, they did not just pass on through!" Merlin snapped. It seemed that he had learned a bit of Donald's temperament during their time together. "Something is allowing them to set foot in this world without being hampered by the sealing of the Keyhole, and my barriers."

"What could it be?" Sora asked.

"I sense a tremendous dark force" said Merlin. "It's bigger than anything that I've ever felt before."

Sora remembered what had happened earlier that night at Disney Castle. He explained events to Merlin. Merlin nodded. "I see. Then there is no other explanation. Some tremendous power, most likely the power that Riku felt is causing this disturbance. I'm not surprised it made him ill. He is sensitive to the darkness. It must have been an overload on his heart."

"Kairi thought he was having a heart attack" said Sora.

"Let's stop talking and get out there!" Donald squawked.

"Wait" said Merlin, going over to a large cabinet. "I had hoped to show you your new abilities under less…unpleasant circumstances, but I suppose that we can't help what happens." He took out a small blue sphere. "Donald, this is for you. It contains the essence of the Flare spell. That was the spell I used to save you, Sora" he explained. "I wish I had more time, but from the sounds out there, the Bastion Knights aren't able to keep things together. If only Captain Nexumair wasn't on his trip…" Merlin shook his head and said. "Fine! Go on out there! Sora, your Keyblade must be reacting to the presence of a being of the darkness. It must be very powerful to react this strongly. All of you be _careful_ out there for the Light's sake!"

"We promise!" Goofy yelled as they went out the door. It slammed shut behind them.

"Come back alive at least" said Merlin.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran through the streets attacking the Heartless. There seemed to be more and more of them, and Sora realized with a sickened horror that they must be adding to their ranks by using the citizens of Radiant Garden. That made him hack at the monsters even harder, trying to battle his way to where the source evil was coming from. Finally the reached the Marketplace. The place which had so entranced Sora was in ruins. Shop windows had been broken, doors hung off hinges. Merchandise lay scattered in the street. The Sora's arm was numb the Keyblade was vibrating so badly.

"Be careful, and watch for danger" said Goofy. He had his shield up and was looking around. For some odd reason, the Marketplace was empty of Heartless. There wasn't a single creature in sight. The place was silent, empty. Then a voice called from above.

"Keyblade Master!" it was clear and full of laughter. Sora looked up to see a figure leap down in front of them. He blinked. It was a girl. She had red hair that reached her shoulders, and green eyes. Her red lips opened in a beautiful white smile. She was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a silver Heartless insignia on the front. Her jeans were torn out at the knees, and she was wearing silver sneakers with black laces. The Keyblade gave one massive vibration that seemed to wrench Sora's arm out its socket…and then grew quiet. Its glow faded.

"Hi, Sora" she said. "It's _so_ nice to meet you."

"Sora" said Donald.

"Yeah, I know" Sora whispered through his teeth. He didn't have to be told that this was the presence that had done this. This was Maleficent's experiment. He walked toward her, his Keyblade extended. Sora reached in his jacket. Pinned inside was a row of Key Chains for the Keyblade. Sora selected the Oathkeeper. It was, after all, Kairi's good luck charm and it reminded him of her. He would wear it proudly into battle. And Sora had a feeling that this was going to be one of the toughest battles of his life. As the Oathkeeper chain attached, the Kingdom Key became white with angel wings growing from the handle. The end was replaced by blue and yellow pinwheels.

The girl's eyes widened. "Whoa! Your light power just increased." She sounded more amused than scared.

"Of course it did" said Sora. "I'm fighting with a memento of a friend."

"Before we fight" said the girl. "And before I kill you, I want you to know my name. After all, I know your name---it was downloaded into my brain by Maleficent's magic while I was still in the tank. But you don't know mine. I know _everything_ about you, Sora. And you know next to nothing about me."

"Save it!" Sora yelled, brandishing the Oathkeeper in a furious gesture. "I couldn't care less who, or _what_ you are! You hurt a lot of people, and you hurt Riku too! I'm taking you down. Then I'm coming to get your masters!"

At this the girl laughed. She laughed so hard that tears trickled down her face. "M-Maleficent and Pete? _My_ masters? Ah, ha, ha,h a! That's great Keyblade Master, it really is!"

Sora was puzzled and a bit concerned. From the looks on their faces, so were Donald and Goofy. "What do you mean?"

The girl pursed her lips and an exact replica of Maleficent's voice came from her mouth. "I'm your mother! You must do what I say! Or I will punish you in a very _painful_ way! _Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" _Again that joyful laughter, but it had a sick undertone, making Sora think of things lying deep and buried in darkness, things under the bed, and hearts drowned in their own greed.

"You're…you're _not_ under her orders?" Sora said.

"Nope!" the girl said, walking a bit closer. "I came her on my own. And do you know _why _Sora? Because I came to kill the Keyblade Master. I was _made_ to kill you, you and everyone else who wields one. That includes little Kairi too. I learned information about _all_ of you in the tank." She smirked. "By the way, my name's Tine. Hag horns wanted to call me 'Roman Numeral Something, but I knew what my _true_ name was. She started talking to me like I was a robot. But I taught her a lesson. I taught them _all_ a lesson!" she shouted "DO! NOT! MESS! WITH! TINE! THE! BEST!" then she turned her insane, green gaze to Sora. "As you and your bumbling friends are about to find out."

"We'll see" Sora said, holding out Oathkeeper in a guard position. "I'll take you on alone."

Tine raised her hand and formed a sword from dark energy. It reminded Sora of Auron, the warrior they had met in the Underworld. It was like his sword, only it had no symbol on the hilt. "I have a large sword and unlimited control over the darkness power" said Tine, her grin fading. "And you have a friend's good luck charm that _somehow_ makes your light aura a little higher." She ran toward Sora with unbelievable speed. "Let's get it _on!" _she shrieked. She brought her sword crashing down toward him.

Sora barely managed to bring the Keyblade up to block it. The impact shook his arms all the way into the sockets with pain. Pain that felt cold. He managed to dodge another one of those powerful blows. It smashed into the wall of one of the shops. The entire wall smashed open like nothing. The building leaned to the side. When he turned to strike at Tine, he saw that she had disappeared. But she had been right there a second ago! He moved aside just in time as a sword whistled past his head. He had just avoided being decapitated. Sora then understood what she was doing. She was teleporting from place to place, appearing in the Dark Realm, where he would be in the real world, tracking him by the feel of his light aura. She then materialized the sword near him and swung it before coming out herself. Unfortunately, knowing what your enemy was doing did not enable you to stop them. With such power at her command, Tine was impossible to hit. And Sora didn't know what other nasty little tricks she had hiding up her sleeve.

He wasn't sure he could win.

Ohhhh! A cliffhanger! Don't worry, I'll take good care of our boy Sora!


	11. Sora vs 13 PrtII

**Sora vs. #13 Prt. II **

Sora stood panting heavily in the middle of the Marketplace. He was exhausted. Sweat dripped into his eyes, and he raised a gloved hand to wipe it away. "Come out!" he called, lifting the Oathkeeper to face Tine. But the girl was nowhere to be seen. Then Sora felt a movement behind him. He moved but wasn't fast enough. A burning line of pain traced its way down his back, along with blood.

"Agghh!" Sora cried out as he was hit for the fifth time. He already had four other such wounds as these. One for each hour they had been fighting. He had not managed to hit Maleficent's loathsome experiment once.

"What's wrong Keyblade Master, I thought that you were going to take me down!" Tine's voice called out of the air. It resonated hideous cheerfulness.

"Stop playing with me and fight fair!" Sora screamed. He was beginning to get desperate. He had told Donald and Goofy to focus on killing the Heartless in town and getting the citizens to safety. He wanted them to leave for another reason.

Sora didn't want his friends to see him die.

He had faced that fact. He was quite possibly going to die. Tine was way out of his league. She had already managed to injure him five times. He felt another movement. He brought Oathkeeper up to block Tine's black blade. It shook his arms again. Then it vanished and Sora thought _how long? How long before I get too tired to block and this thing finishes me? _He wondered if Tine would kill him quickly, or drag it out. From what he had seen of her personality, she would probably drag it out to prolong his suffering. Sora swung out at a space of movement, and was rewarded by a flash of stars and a cry of surprised pain. Tine reappeared. Her grin had faded. "You think that just because you hit me, that you could defeat me that easily?" she snarled. Really snarled. It sounded like an animal. Her eyes glowed yellow for a few seconds. "I'll kill you, you little chicken."

"_I'm _a chicken?" Sora burst out, feeling outraged in the midst of his pain and fear. "_You're _the one who hides in the Dark Realm and strikes out at people."

Tine was so abruptly in front of him that he had to throw himself to the ground to avoid her blade. Sora took advantage of her opening to land several blows on Tine's head and chest. She cried out in pain as she was driven backwards by his rain of attacks. She staggered back, definitely looking a little less assured of her victory than before.

"Not so smug now, are you?" Sora said. He lunged forward. It was a mistake and he knew it as soon as he tried. He ran right into Tine's blade. He managed to avoid being injured by the blade by blocking it with Oathkeeper. The force of it sent him flying across the Marketplace. Tine fired a blue ball of dark energy at him. It hit Sora in midair, blowing him up in a powerful explosion. He cried out in pain and was hurled even further. Sora jumped to his feet right before Tine's blade slammed into the pavement, cracking it. She tried to pull it out, but Sora kicked her in the stomach. While she staggered, Sora beat her in the back with Oathkeeper.

_Yes! _He thought. _If I keep at it, I just _might_ win!_

Tine demonstrated more of her inhuman speed and punched him in the face. Sora saw stars and staggered, trying not to fall to his knees. If he did, then she would kill him. He was _really_ starting to get tired now, and that was a bad thing. His legs were like lead, and he couldn't feel his arms. They had been fighting for five hours. It was one o'clock in the morning, and still the sky retained its bright pink color. As bright as the pinkish foam he had begun to cough up around ten thirty. His injuries bled, soaking his magical clothes. _Hope Master Yen Sid isn't too angry_ he thought crazily. It occurred to him to heal himself, but he realized that Tine could strike a fatal blow while he stood to perform the magic. He dodged again, as her sword slammed into a wooden stall selling carpets from Agrabah, smashing it to splinters.

_I have to end this_ Sora thought. _If I don't I'll die._ He stood, swaying, trying to think what he could do to win this. He didn't have Donald and Goofy to help combo attack her, so he would have to find another way. He dodged another swing. Tine didn't appear to be tired at all. In pain, yes. But not tired. Particles of darkness leaked from places where Oathkeeper's spines had cut her skin.

"You're tougher than I thought" she admitted, shaking her head. "But you're still no match for me. I have unlimited energy, Sora. I _never_ get tired. The darkness is my energy and the darkness is eternal, as is the light. I could fight an army, and never get tired." She offered another one of those creepy beautiful/hideous grins.

"I'll…fight…'till…I drop" Sora panted.

"Looks like I won't have to wait long" Tine said. She swung her blade out. This time, Sora was too slow to avoid it. It slashed him across the stomach. Blood spattered the ground.

"Ugggghhh!" Sora grunted, and fell to his knees. Now, the only thing keeping him from falling facedown in a pool of his own blood was Oathkeeper. He used it as a cane to drag himself forward on his knees. Sora did not look down at the horrid injury. He only kept going forward. He now fully expected to die. But, if he had to die, he would at least die like a pirate, facing death armed, as Jack Sparrow had told him. "I can't die!" he muttered to himself as he pressed forward toward the agent of his certain death, leaving an incredibly large trail of blood behind him. "If I die now, I'll never finish ninth grade! Mr. Harding will be furious!"

"What are you_ talking _about?" Tine said. "Why are you still alive anyway?"

Sora didn't know how to respond to that question. He didn't know if he _could_ respond. He couldn't make his mouth work. It was like when Merlin had poisoned his water with the Night Juice, except that this was a pleasant feeling. He looked down at the blood that now covered almost every inch of his body and his black clothes. It was red, beautifully red like Kairi's hair. Kairi. She had given Oathkeeper to him as a token of her friendship. Friendship. "Fr…ship…" Sora muttered. His face was gray and he sounded like someone talking in his sleep. "Kari is a friend…Sora muttered…Riku is a friend…Donald is a friend…Goofy is a friend…" he was unconsciously raising the Keyblade so that it pointed at Tine's chest, at where her heart should have been.

"What are you doing?" Tine asked, and if Sora had been conscious enough to pay attention, he would have noticed that there was fear in her voice.

"YOU'RE ALL MY FRIENDS SO COME TO ME COME TO ME NOW!" Sora shrieked.

"Flare!" Donald cried as he blew several Heartless from the face of existence. Suddenly, Donald cried out as he felt a bit his substance taken away. Goofy did the same.

"Agh!" Riku cried as he felt something leave him. Kari felt the same thing…but she felt that she knew what it was, and sent a bit of her power along with it.

The tip of Oathkeeper was lit with a dazzling display of light; light strong enough to pierce the greatest darkness. "IN THE NAME OF ALL LIGHT, BANISH THIS MONSTER! GET YOU AWAY FROM THE WORLDS!" a blast of molten blue light, glowing so brightly that it left an afterimage across Sora's eyes for days afterwards, flew across the Marketplace and struck Tine directly in the chest. The result was spectacular. Tine was blasted backwards, screaming and crying. Crying! Her sobs became shrieks and yells of agony. She was suspended within a glowing cocoon of light, writhing and twisting, trying to free herself. Sora saw for an instant, Tine's skin became transparent, and Sora saw that inside, instead of organs and bones, there were merely swirling patterns of darkness power. Then Tine fell to the ground with a _thump! _

"I…win…" Sora said, and collapsed. He felt a Dark Corridor open, and raised his head to see Tine vanish inside it.

"_I'll kill you all!" _her voice came through, choked with darkness and hate, barely human. _"Kairi and Riku, Donald and Goofy! All those who you mentioned will die slowly and painfully! Kill you _ALL!" then the portal vanished. The battle was over.

Donald and Goofy ran to the Marketplace. Any Heartless that got in their way was mowed down. Any person was shoved aside. They knew Sora was in trouble. He had called on the last thing he had left: their friendship. It was a mark of how connected their hearts were, each of their hearts had given Sora little boost of power. They only prayed it was enough.


	12. Pete The Pet Catcher

**Pete The Pet Catcher **

Pete stood staring at Maleficent, feeling his life tick by. They had facing each other for five minutes since she had called him Peter and summoned him over to her. Pete thought that he had finally gone too far. Maleficent looked perfectly calm---well, calm except for a muscle which jumped crazily in her cheek---but it was her eyes which were so terrible. They spoke of terrible rage, so terrible that he had to look away after the five minutes. It was at this point that his mistress chose to speak.

"Peter, are you familiar with what this main panel does?" the question was asked in a perfectly reasonable voice.

"Ah…well…I…that is to say…Tine really is a better name…"

Maleficent held out her long fingered hand, its red nails catching the lights from the ceiling. "I did not ask about any of that. I asked whether or not you were familiar with the workings of the main panel." Her voice, just for the barest instant contained a glimpse of the titanic, red rage she was holding at bay. It was like peering through a cracked door into Hell itself. Pete swallowed miserably and looked at her eyes. They were pits of that red rage in there, and he was dying in them.

"I'm sorry!" he said, throwing himself at the hem of his mistress's nutrient fluid stained robes. He was abruptly hauled to his feet and forced to look into her eyes. What Pete saw there was horrible. Maleficent was not merely in a rage, but teetering on the brink of homicidal madness.

"_You're sorry?" _Maleficent said in a low, freaky whisper. She moved his face closer to hers as if she was going to kiss him. The muscle in her cheek accelerated its twitching. "Do you know what you've _done? Do you?" _she screeched. She hurled him into a wall. Pete scrambled to his feet in terror. Malignant, flaring green flames were billowing around Maleficent's robes. She looked like a monster. "_Thirteen, the most powerful of my work" _she said, still in that weird whispery voice. "_You turned my child, my weapon against me Peter." _

"I'm sorry!" Pete begged again. "Oh, please, please! I'm sooooorrrrrrryyyy!"

"There are worse places than where you were banished to Peter" said Maleficent. "Much, much worse places, inhabited by much worse creatures than Heartless or Nobodies. I can send you there with a flick of my hand. Or course, the magical strain might kill me. I'm not as young as I used to be. But Peter, right now, I'm willing to risk that."

Pete backed up in horror. This wasn't happening. This was impossible. Maleficent had gone mad. Completely and totally nuts. She was such a rational and sane person most of the time, even if she was a bit or a megalomaniac. But this…this was crazy. He had to think of some way to defend himself. He looked around and saw several pieces of glass lying around from the coffin's explosion. He could, theoretically, grab one and injure Maleficent before she could do something to him. His mind automatically recoiled from the idea. No matter how horrible she was, he couldn't hurt her. She had rescued him from going insane in some comic prison. He owed her a debt that could never be repaid. That was why he stuck around with her, why he endured the orders, the harsh criticisms, the servitude. That and the fact that Maleficent was probably going to rule the universe some day, so it was better to know the right people. In fact, if it hadn't been for the brat with the Keyblade, she probably _would_ be ruling the worlds right now. All of these thoughts passed through his head as he saw his mistress coming toward him, madness in her eyes. He closed his eyes and waited for the worst. But the worst didn't come. Cautiously, he opened one eye. Maleficent was standing before him, her arms folded. She still looked pretty angry, but the madness had faded from her eyes.

"Pete" she said. "Come over here." Well, that was a good sign. She wasn't calling him Peter anymore, so that meant she had regained her sanity. Pete shuffled nervously over to where she was.

"Why" Maleficent asked, "would you do such an abominably stupid thing?"

"I…" Pete gulped. Then he explained what had happened, how he had felt sorry for the poor entity inside the tank. And how he had changed the name and erased the preprogrammed purpose in life.

"It's a good thing that you're too stupid to understand exactly what a perfect synthesis of magic and technology this is" said Maleficent. "You merely damaged the surface data that I was implanting. The core data program---the destruction of all light---is still as firmly lodged in 'Tine's' head as breathing. Roman Numeral Thirteen thinks of itself as a person, does it? Well, I will remedy _that." _Maleficent seemed to be talking to herself. While her voice hadn't dropped into that weird whisper, Pete was afraid that she was going off the deep end again. So he tried to distract her.

"Ah…what'll happen to me?" he asked.

Maleficent looked at him with a kind of loose recognition. "Why, Pete…isn't it obvious? I'm letting you go."

_What?_ Pete couldn't believe his ears. "What did you say?" he gasped.

"Why, Pete…isn't it obvious? I'm letting you go" Maleficent said again.

"But…but…but…you can't…I mean, I've been faithful…a good servant…I…"

"Ruined the project that was my only hope of standing against Mickey and the Keyblade Master" Maleficent finished for him.

"Please! Don't make me leave!" Pete begged. "What'll happen to me out there? I can't go back to Disney! I can't go back to a lot of worlds…"

"That will be your problem" Maleficent said. "I require an assistant with more brains than you possess, and more…_strength." _ She walked past him. "Pack your things and be gone" she snapped.

"I'll catch it!" the words were out of Pete's mouth before he had a chance to even consider their gravity.

Maleficent turned to him slowly, her robes swishing. "You'll…what? Capture Roman Numeral Thirteen? Providing you can even stand against her attacks, which you won't, what would you use to contain her while transporting her here to be reprogrammed?"

"She can be reprogrammed?" Pete asked.

"Yes, though the process is difficult and painful and there is a 100 percent guarantee that there will be some brain damage, but yes, she can be reprogrammed to our cause. Now, to get back on topic, what will you confine her in?"

"I…I'll use…I'll think of it when I get to that point!" Pete said. "I'll pack and leave…but I won't come back until I have T---Roman Numeral Thirteen with me, ready for a session of reprogrammin'!"

Maleficent sighed. "You do realize that you are most likely going to your death, don't you?"

Pete nodded, and then did a salute, the salute of the Royal Disney Knights. "I do, your Ladyship."

Maleficent gave a small smile. "Very well then." Then her face hardened. "However Pete…you will delay your departure for a day. You will be tried in the Alliance Court. Your sentence will be carried out when you return."

Pete gulped. "O…okay."

"Then you are rehired as my assistant" said Maleficent. "And now your first job will take place."

"What is that?" Pete asked eagerly.

"Clean up this mess, immediately" Maleficent snapped, and then disappeared in a whoosh of green flames.


	13. Captain Nexumair

**Captain Nexumair **

Sora wondered where he was. He seemed to be in a bed. _But I died, didn't I? That girl killed me_ he thought. Then he remembered! _He _had beaten _her_ with the help of his friend's heart energy. It had saved him in the end. Now, where was he? He opened his eyes and saw a high ceiling above him. Then a face entered his vision.

"Ahh!" Sora screamed and batted at it. His fist connected with one of its eyes and it screamed. It was only after that that Sora realized, with a flush of shame who he'd hit. It was Aerith.

"Oh my God" Sora said. "Aerith, I'm so sorry."

"That's alright Sora" she said, nursing her eye. It's just good to see that you're alright. We thought that you were going to die. It was a very near miss, too. You lost quite a lot of blood in the Marketplace, and we were afraid that you weren't going to make it. A lot of people didn't make it" she said somberly. Sora looked around and saw that, once again, he was in an infirmary. This time there were no patients in the beds.

"When can I get up and running?" Sora asked. "I have to get back to Disney Castle. The King needs to know what I found out!"

"Don't worry," Aerith said. "There will be plenty of time for that. Merlin already sent a message to His Majesty to let him know what Donald and Goofy found out."

Sora slumped back under the covers. "So…so the King knows…about…"

"About Tine, yes" said Aerith. "As do we." She sat down on a bench next to the bed. "We all felt a presence steeped in darkness and evil. When the King arrived, we all went to the Marketplace. We got there at the same time as Donald and Goofy and saw…well, we saw you Sora, and for a minute we thought you were dead."

"Yeah, you can say that again" Sora said. "I mean, about the darkness and evil part. Tine's a monster. She wanted to kill me just because she could. She said she was made to kill the Keyblade Master. Is that possible?"

Aerith shook her head. "I wouldn't know. I don't support genetic engineering and never have. It's an abomination against Nature. But tell me Sora, did you kill Tine?"

"Huh?" Sora asked. "What do you mean, did I kill Tine?"

"No one can sense her presence anymore. Before, her dark aura was wrapped around her like bat's wings. But now..." she trailed off. "That's what everyone wanted to know. You were the only one there, so only you saw. I wouldn't allow anyone, even the King himself to see you until I was sure you were in stable condition. But Leon asked me to question you as soon as you woke up."

Sora raised himself up on one elbow. "No" he said. "I didn't kill Tine. Unless she died in another place after she escaped. She sounded mad though, not like she was dying."

Aerith sighed. "I was afraid of that. How did you defeat her?"

Sora rubbed his hair. "I don't know" he said. "It…I…I used my friend's heart energy, the ones I had the most connections to. Then I sort of focused it in a concentrated ray of light. It hit her, right here" Sora pointed to his chest above his heart. "And then she went flying backwards. She got all transparent and I could see the darkness inside her" he finished. "Then she cursed me out and said she would kill all my friends." Sora sat up and winced. His torso was covered in bandages. So were his back and his shoulder and his left leg, and his right forearm. His five wounds. "Jeez" said Sora. "Can I _please_ get up and walk around. I want to see Bastion Castle for myself. Besides, I have to talk to Maleficent. She made Tine---she'll know what to do."

Aerith sighed. "Alright. Even though this goes against my judgment as Head of the Healer's Guild, I'll let you go. I'll go outside while you get changed."

"Oh! My clothes" Sora said. "That outfit Yen Sid made me was torn up, and soaked with blood."

"You mean this?" Aerith said, holding up his outfit, as good as new.

"But….how did it…that's impossible!" Sora sputtered.

"Never underestimate magical clothes" said Aerith wisely. Then they both burst into laughter.

"This place is _huge!_" Sora said as they walked down the red marble hallway. The hallway was bigger than anything Sora had seen. It reminded him of some weird cross between the Emperor's Palace at the Land of the Dragons and Disney Castle. Tall chandeliers spilled light over all. "How did you do all this in a year?" Sora asked.

Aerith smiled. "Well, we had some help. King Mickey was very generous; he donated millions of munny to our cause, to create this place, and for the buildup of the city. Now, only the lands beyond the Great Maw are unsettled…that and" Aerith gave a snort of distaste. "Villains Vale. And appropriate name for that vile place."

Sora didn't ask Aerith any more questions. He was too busy taking in the sights around him. King Mickey must have donated a lot of dough to build a place this big. After a little while of walking, they reached an area that was marked by two huge doors made of white Marble. The sign of the bird and gears was emblazoned on it, as it was on the armor of the Bastion Knights.

"It's me" Aerith said. The tall doors creaked open with an ominous sound. Sora looked to see a large room in which a group of people were seated around a long glass table. Sora recognized Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and Merlin. Donald and Goofy sat there too, along with the King. Riku and Kairi stood leaning against the wall. But the person in one of the chairs to the left was a mystery to Sora. He appeared to be fourteen, the age when Sora had received the Keyblade. He had long silver hair that was tied back in a ponytail. His wore a blue shirt and gray pants. Various bits of armor covered both. A total of six swords, elegant sabers, were strapped to his back in their scabbards.

"Sora!" cried Riku. "You're alright!"

"Guys!" Sora said running toward them. "Of course I'm alright! You didn't expect a freak brewed up in some lab to beat me, did you?"

Kairi shook her head. "We were all afraid that you'd…well, died."

Yuffie hit Sora in the head. "Don't scare us again like that, you jerk! Aerith had to work all night and all morning to keep you alive. You were almost past healing magic's abilities."

That sobered Sora up. He realized just how close he had been to the brink of death.

"Well, it's nice to see you're alive and kickin' kid" said Cid. He shook Sora's hand firmly. "But, as you can guess, we didn't bring you here just to talk about how well it is to see you. That…thing you beat. Do you know what happened to it?"

Sora gave them the same answer he had given Aerith. Then he told them about his plan to talk to Maleficent.

"_What?" _exclaimed the King. He looked at Sora as if Sora had just proposed opening all the Keyholes again. "What are you saying, Sora? Maleficent, help us? She's been nothing but trouble ever since she arrived at Disney Castle!"

Sora gaped. "Maleficent used to live at Disney?" he said.

"Yes" King Mickey began. "She was the court magician, and---"

"Perhaps we can relate that story later" said a voice from the left. Sora looked to see the boy he had seen earlier at the table. He was sitting straight up in his chair. His green eyes focused on Sora. "Lord Keyblade Master, allow me to introduce myself. I am Captain Nexumair Nevy of the Bastion Knights. He walked over to Sora. "Forgive me, Your Majesty for interrupting, but I had a question. This Tine creature was created by Maleficent, correct? Could the sorceress have instructed the creature to lie about its intentions? She could have sent it to kill you, and merely told us a lie about having free will. If she failed, Maleficent would lure you to her stronghold. That would be a perfect trap."

Sora looked at Nexumair. "Well" he said. "I guess you _could_ say that. But it's just…she was so _sincere_ when she said it. I don't think she was lying. She meant it. She hates Maleficent and Pete."

"Yeah" said Goofy. "She made a imitation of her voice too."

Nexumair sighed. "Perhaps the Bastion Knights should handle this" he said. "We would patrol the areas of the city to make sure that Tine does _not_ reappear."

Sora shook his head. "You don't understand. She's strong, stronger than anything I've ever seen! She'd kick your butts if she came here."

"But you injured her, didn't you?" Nexumair pressed.

"Yeah!" Sora said. "But she's still probably powerful."

"Let's stop all this arguing" said Leon. "I understand that we're all stressed out, but we should really begin talking about how we're going to manage the damage the Heartless caused. That and the morale of the people. Everyone's s scared now. Who knows when the next attack could be?"

"My point exactly" said Merlin. "With Tine around, the wards are useless. The people will have to be informed of the new threat to their safety!"

"Hardly" said Nexumair. "It would just cause panic if people knew about that Heartless had a new master."

"He's right" said Yuffie. "We'll just tell them that Merlin's wards faded for a little while, and that we're getting them back online. People have to stay inside after a certain time and we'll have a curfew."

"I like that idea" said Cid. "It sounds like a plan. Have those pixies spread the word."

"Meeting dismissed" said Leon. Everyone got up and began to walk toward the doors.

Sora caught up to Riku and Kairi. "You were right, Riku" he said. "That thing _was_ powerful. I barely beat it."

"I know" said Riku. "Next time, could you be a little easier on the heart energy snatching? You were so rough."

Sora grinned with embarrassment. "Sorry, I didn't really have a lot of time. I thought I was down to my final few minutes. Then it was the Underworld for me!"

"Yeah" said Kairi. "Sora, how about just going back to the Islands? That's where Riku and I are going. Just tell the King that you're sorry, but you're not doing anymore of these missions. This thing is probably dead or dying; you injured it pretty badly."

Sora shook his head. "She's still alive, Kairi. She's just disguising her aura. She probably broadcasted it earlier because she wanted me to sense it, to lure me. That was why you had that attack", he said to Riku who nodded. "But now, she's hurt, and she knows that I'm a bit tougher to kill than she first thought."

"So what?" said Riku, almost angrily. "Are you going to seek her out or something?"

"That's exactly what I'm going to do" Sora said with a final decision. Then he shook his head. "But let's talk about other stuff. What's this place like? Who _was_ that Nexumair kid, and how did he get to be Captain of the Bastion Knights?"

"Well" Kairi said, "Radiant Garden is ruled by the different Guilds. Merlin controls the Mage's Guild, Aerith Controls the Healers Guild---they're in charge of hospitals and things---Leon controls the Warrior's Guild, and Cid controls the Craftsman's Guild. They fix stuff around the city. Oh, and Yuffie! She and Nexumair control the Bastion Knights, although she follows Nexumair's orders"

Riku added "As for Nexumair…I don't know. I talked to him. He's not from here. Like so many others, he was displaced from his world when the Heartless attacked it. That's all I know. That and his fighting skills are second to none. He's a master of the blades, and he moves so fast that sometimes there's a small sonic boom."

"Wow" Sora said. He hugged them both. "Have a good vacation. I'll be back, as soon as I can. I _have_ to talk to Maleficent. She'll know what to do, if Tine really is out of her control. I know it."

"I still don't like it…but I guess I can't do anything to stop you, short of beating you up…and we all know how _that_ ended" Riku said. He and Kairi walked down the hall. Sora suddenly felt and terrific sense of loneliness, and when he touched his face to move his hair out of his eyes, he realized he was crying.


	14. Recovery, and New Friends

**Recovery and New Friends**

Tine staggered out of the first Dark Corridor she could find. She ached all over from the Keyblade's blows. He had beaten her! This was _impossible!_ How had some stupid boy, bearing a friend's charm beat and creature that was an absolute master of the darkness power? Tine supposed that she had been too arrogant. That had led to her downfall. If she had been more serious when she fought him, Sora would be dead right now. Tine had also discovered something. Though she had been made to crush the Keyblade wielders, destroy worlds, and ruin lives, though she had been made to inflict pain, she had a very low tolerance _for_ pain. She was appalled to realize that she was on the edge of fainting from it. She quickly opened a Corridor to some random world. It would not be a good thing to fall unconscious in the Dark Realm. If she did, then the Primal Dark might very well dissolve her human shell, and reclaim its substance from her. Tine stumbled into a rubble strewn lobby. As she looked around, she saw that she was in the foyer of what had once been a very elegant mansion. Now it looked like a hangout for drunks and homeless. Sunlight streamed through yellowed glass windows. Tine fell to the floor, her strength spent.

"This…is…this is pathetic!" she cried from the floor. She used the stair railing to pull herself to her feet. Darkness particles leaked from her wounds in black streams. None of them were fatal by themselves, but they all sung songs of agony. And worse, she sensed some terrible internal injury from where that light had struck her chest. Tine looked to see that there was a small hole in her shirt. As she pulled it up, Tine saw that a terrible red burn was spreading there. With growing anger, Tine felt the same on her back. It had come right out of the other side of her. That boy was going to pay!

Tine walked up the stairs, ordering herself not to collapse. The thoughts of a warm bed called to her. She opened the first door that she saw. In it was a small bedroom that looked as if it had not been used in a while. She saw that it did indeed have a bed. Tine threw herself on it and was instantly asleep. A little while later (Tine was never sure how much later) she was awakened by a loud _click! _ She looked groggily around. A rock had hit the window. Feeling a little stronger, Tine got out of bed, walking over to the window and peered out. Three kids stood out there, probably around her age (or the age that she had been created to look like). One of them was wearing camouflage pants and a vest. The other was an overweight boy in a red and white jersey and jeans. The last was a girl with brown hair and an orange shirt. She was apparently arguing with the two. Tine couldn't really hear what they were saying, but it was clear enough from the gestures. _Stop throwing rocks at the windows!_

Then Tine saw the overweight boy look up at the windows, and his cheerful face transform into a rictus of horror and fear. He pointed up at the window where Tine was. The girl looked up, and she too jumped, her face as white as paper. The boy in the camouflage looked very surprised, but not as afraid as the others. She saw him gesturing furiously with his hand at the gates.

_Oh no. _This wasn't good. Tine didn't know what she'd do if they came in. She didn't have the strength to make another Corridor and she definitely didn't have the strength to fight them if their intentions were hostile. Maybe she could beg? No, Tine's mind automatically rejected that. She'd die in agony before she begged someone for mercy. It looked like that resolve was about to be tested. The three kids began to walk through the gates of the mansion. Soon, she heard them enter the large double doors.

_Maybe if I _scare_ them, I won't have to fight_ Tine thought. She didn't know where she was. She could be on any world, in any place on that world. She had picked a random entrance. She opened the door to the bedroom, and peered down at the foyer.

"I don't know about this, Hayner" said a girl's voice. "What if it's not a ghost, and really just a homeless girl who just happened to come by…"

"Yeah!" put in another boy's voice. "We'd just be bothering her. Right?" he said, and Tine heard that his voice was teetering on the edge of panic. Maybe she could push him over that edge. Tine thought about summoning Heartless. Then she decided against it. In her weakened condition, she wasn't sure if she could control them. She wasn't worried about them consuming her heart---after all, she had no heart to give. But she was worried that they would run amok, ruining and eventually destroying this world. And she found that she didn't want that to happen. Though she was afraid of what they might do to her when they found her, Tine enjoyed watching the three friends look around the mansion, like a mystery gang after a ghost. And she was the ghost.

"There you are!" the one named Hayner roared. She heard his shoes run across the foyer. He reached the bottom of the stairs. Tine looked down at him. "Who are you?" he asked. "What are you doing in the old mansion?"

"Hayner!" said the boy in the red jersey. He was walking stiffly like a toy solider, as if he had to make himself move for fear. He probably did. "D-don't make it angry! Supernatural creatures have a-all sorts of f-fr-frightening powers!"

"This isn't any supernatural creature, Pence" Hayner said. Actually, the one named Pence was closer to the truth than Hayner.

Tine concentrated all her strength…and then hurled a ball of dark energy at them. It hit the bottom of the stairs and exploded into molten drops of blackness, before dissipating. "Take that…" Tine screamed in her best ghost voice. And then the floor seemed to tilt and whirl around her, and she fell down the stairs.

Pence and Ollette saw the "ghost" fall down the stairs toward them. This was weird. In movies, ghost didn't usually fall down the stairs at people. They _definitely _didn't utter small moans of pain as they tried to get back up. Ollette suddenly thought that maybe Hayner was right, and this was no ghost. She moved a little closer and gasped. This girl was covered in wounds. Cuts and bruises blossomed all over her arms and face. Her shirt had a hole in it, and she could see that there was a terrible burn on her chest. "Oh my God" Ollette said, stepping toward the wounded girl.

Pence screamed "Ollette! What are you doing?! It might be dangerous!"

"Shut up, Pence" said Hayner, as he helped Ollette lift the girl off the floor. Her skin was surprisingly cold, which did nothing to ease Olette's mind about her ghost theory. But she helped her stand anyway.

"Th…thanks" Tine said. She quickly touched the minds of the two kids holding her, making the dark particles streaming out of her look like regular red blood to their vision.

"Who did this to you?" Hayner demanded. "Was it that rat Seifer and his gang? This is low, even for them."

"No" Tine said. "I don't know who you're talking about" she said. "It was some guy named Sora…but that's another story. Look, I'm really grateful, but---"

_"Sora?" _ Hayner gasped. "_Sora_ did this to you?"

"You…know Sora?" Tine asked.

"Yeah, we met him at the end of summer break last year" said Pence. He had finally come a little closer.

"Well, that's good to see a lot of people know each other" said Tine. "But I've really got to go and---"

"I can't believe he would do something like this to you" Ollette said. "Come on, we'll get you to the Twilight Home Hospital."

"No!" Tine said. "I'm fine. I really am. I'm not hurt as badly as you think." She stumbled as she tried to walk. Then Tine thought _maybe I'm more hurt than I thought I was. _

"Here" said Hayner. "I'll give you a piggyback ride to town."

"But I can walk" Tine protested.

"No you can't" Hayner said, looking at Tine's trembling legs. "You can barely stand. Sora must have done a real number on you" he said, his voice trembling with anger.

_If only you'd seen what I did to him_ Tine thought but she said nothing. She climbed onto Hayner's back.

"Whoa" said Hayner. "You're light as a feather. Are you sure you're on?"

"Yeah, I'm on" said Tine. Though they were the same height, Hayner had no trouble carrying her. It was good to be light because you were filled with darkness power and nothing else at all.

"What is this place anyway?" Tine asked.

"Twilight Town" said Ollette. "Welcome to Twilight Town."

"Where are we going?" Tine asked. "I told you, I'm not going to the hospital."

"Calm down" Hayner laughed. "We're going the Usual Spot. It's the place where we always hang out." He looked up at her. "So, what's your name?"

Tine cleared her throat. "My name is

(_Roman Numeral Thirteen) _

Tina" she said.

"It's great to meet you, Tina" said Ollette. "Especially at the beginning of summer break. Now we have a new friend."

Pence had said nothing during this exchange. He lagged behind the rest of the group. He could see the dark particles streaming out of Tina's wounds. Hayner and Ollette seemed not to see them at all. Pence, the only one who hadn't touched the strange girl could. He had a feeling that there was something more to their mysterious new friend.


	15. The Hunt Begins

**The Hunt Begins!**

Judge Claude Frollo slammed his gavel down on the silver table. "Order! Order! The Court of the Alliance is now in session! All rise!" the entire assembly rose for the judge. Frollo's soldiers swarmed everywhere, making sure that weapons were not to be found anywhere---these were villains they were dealing with after all. Pete sat in a square box, surrounded by soldiers. His trial was not expected to go well. All of the assembled villains had hoped to use the creature that was calling itself Tine to ascend to power over their respective worlds.

"The crime?" Frollo asked.

"The crime, Your Honor, is ruining the Grand Plan that our group has been working on for over a year!" cried Randall Boggs, who was acting as bailiff. The wormlike creature slithered over to Pete. "What were you thinking? _Kindness, _you say? Since when has _kindness_ been a trait that we admire?"

"Uh…well…I…" was all Pete was able to say. He wasn't worried about his sentence. Maleficent had already used her power as the leader of the vile group to assure that his sentence would not be carried out until he returned with Roman Numeral Thirteen. By that time, he hoped that they would be much more forgiving. Now the problem was just being able to withstand the questions and the rude and snide comments.

"I for one _knew_ that this was going to happen" said Hades. The god of the Underworld was enjoying himself immensely. He had been gloating with an "I told you so" attitude since he had arrived. Now he was testifying in Pete's defense. "But, let's not get carried away guys. After all. I just got a word from the Fates, that they almost cut Sora's Thread of Life. This means that the experiment came pretty darn close to killing him."

"Close, but not close enough!" boomed Governor Radcliff huffily. "Let's end this. I say, whoever wants to withdraw their support from Maleficent say it now!"

Maleficent was shocked. "What? This wasn't part of the deal?" she snarled to Frollo. The black robed judge shrugged. "I'm afraid we all came with an agenda, Maleficent. And agenda which you promised to fulfill in this Roman Numeral Thirteen. He pounded his gavel down. "Fine! This trial is no longer about Pete! But there _will_ be order in this court! Now, who will withdraw?"

Hands were raised. Soon almost everyone had stood. Except for a few.

"I think that this Roman Numeral creature would be interesting…if only we could get it to follow orders" said Randall.

"As I already said before, Thirteen would be useful in exterminating those wretched pirates" said Lord Beckett. "I will continue to support the project." He smirked. Of all the villains assembled here, only a few of them knew Maleficent's real plan. She made a show of being angry when a large group of them bailed ship. But she had been expecting this. They were worthless cowards. Hades, Randall, and he himself were among the ones Maleficent had decided to share power with. She was planning to create a race of these darkness/human beings. Now the plan was just temporarily on hold.

"I'll stay too" said Percival Mcleach. The poacher smiled nastily as he thought of all the rare animals he could lay his hands on with the power of Thirteen. Mcleach was another one of the chosen.

As the other villains went through the Dark Corridors to their own worlds, these four stayed behind with Maleficent and Pete.

"Really planned that one out, didn't you" Mcleach said. "So, can this big idiot actually get his hands on that monster?"

"I believe he can" said Lord Beckett. "If doesn't, we can always find something to lure it back here."

"I'll do my best!" Pete said.

"I know a group" said Randall. "They call themselves 'Xavier's Flyers. They live in the lands around Villain's Vale. I think we can get their help to contract a job."

"They won't, if they know what they're capturing" said Hades.

"Oh, I think they will" said Beckett. "I heard that their leader used to be a member of Organization XIII."


	16. The Time Has Come

"**The Time Has Come" **

Axel walked across the snow. His boots made crunching sounds among the broken and burned weapons around him. His black robe blew in the cold polar wind.

"Jeez this pisses me off" he said. "Can't people just get used to the fact that people use Dark Corridors these days?" He kicked a blackened skull. These people had panicked as soon as they saw him step out of the dark hole that had opened in the air. He had been forced to fry them. Things weren't the same these days. _Damn those recombination chips_ he thought. The recombination chips were a technology that Xeonhort had been experimenting with, when the accident with the Heartless had happened. He then became preoccupied with the task of destroying civilization, and the universe. However, _Xemnas_ had not forgotten his predecessor's work. When one joined the Organization, a chip was implanted in their right arm. The chip was, Xemnas had said, to keep track of them; to remind them of their duty to the Thirteen Order. But, it was much, much more than that. Xeonhort had been developing a theory as to what would happen if the darkness patterns that made up a Heartless' body could be encoded on a chip. He reasoned that if said Heartless was destroyed, and then the patterns on the chips might very well reassemble themselves. Xemnas had tried to do the same thing with Nobodies, with some adjustments. It had worked. Axel reasoned that this was unfortunate. He had wanted to die. He wasn't happy that his particles had been reconfigured and that his consciousness and memories had been put back into place along with his body. He remembered everything up to the moment of helping Sora. Xemnas had come back as well…but Axel thought privately that either the Superior had gotten a bad chip, or that the ruination of his Kingdom Hearts had wiped out what ever remnants of sanity he had. Oh, Xemnas was still as smart as he had been before, and he still barked out orders as he had before…but sometimes his eyes got a glazed look in them, and you could see the madness that burned within. Axel wanted to get away from this ship of fools and commit suicide somewhere, but he was one of the ones under watch. So were Larxene and Marluxia. For being traitors to the Organization. He sighed. Well, at least they would have their old castle back soon. That witch Maleficent had taken it from them, and she was going to pay for it! Oh, she wouldn't die quickly---not if Saix had anything to say about it---but she would die in slow, worrying agony. He was sick of living in tents in the Land of Dragons. It was sort of fun, watching the Chinese and the Huns fight all the time on the fields below, but even that was getting tiresome. And having to hear Xibar's stories about how he had successfully condemned a Dragon, by turning it into a Heartless. Any reminders that the Dragon was defeated by Sora and his group was just begging for a shot with his crossbows.

"Axel!" a voice said, shattering the relative solitude of the snowy mountains. Axels turned to see Larxene and Vexen teleport a few feet away.

"Axel, what are you _doing_ without a minder?" Vexen asked, annoyed. That was another one of Superior Xemnas' rules. One of the watched had to have a minder. Someone had to be with you when you went more than twenty feet from the camp. Apparently, Vexen was acting as Larxene's.

"Well, maybe I decided to get a breath of fresh air" Axel snapped. "What is it with you people? Haven't you ever heard of privacy?" he envied #13. Roxas. He was at peace with his Other now. He was a Whole. They on the other hand were just castaways, the empty shell of a being that had fallen into the darkness with just memories as consolation. For such a fallen creature, Roxas had been one of the only members of Organization XIII with a sense of humor. Well, Larxene had a sense of humor, but that was the kind that thinks that strangling a helpless baby is funny. Roxas had a nice, clean sense of humor…such as putting Jalapeno peppers in Xemnas' chili (which the Superior liked extra mild). Roxas had gotten six weeks lab cleaning duty and permanent removal from cooking duty, for that. Yes, he missed Roxas. The new #13 was a cold, and ruthless, willing to harm anyone to get what the Organization wanted. Axel had only met him once, and was glad that the little snot was away serving on his prolonged mission.

"Privacy does not exist for one such as you" Vexen said as coldly as the wind around them. "Or you" he said to Larxene who was giggling into her gloved hands. That got her to shut up Axel saw.

"Well, I didn't come here to argue with you" Vexen said. "I came to tell you that Superior Xemnas has called a meeting of the Thirteen Council."

"More like the Twelve Council" said Axel. "Thirteen only comes when he absolutely has to, or when he gets some new piece of info."

Larxene shrugged. "He's a little snot" she said, unknowingly agreeing with Axel, whom she had despised since the unfortunate Castle Oblivion incident which had led to her "death."

The Thirteen Council was called when a pressing matter had come up. It was when all of the members of Organization XIII gathered to present their feelings on the matter. Not that it really mattered. Like their existence, it was a farce. Xemnas did whatever he damn well felt like doing, and the rest just followed like sheep. Axel sighed. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He was beginning to think he was going loony toons. It was this situation. Living in tents, hunting for food, watching people fight day after day…the monotony was killing him slowly. He didn't know why he didn't just end it…perhaps because he still entertained the hope that he might meet _her. _Lea. She was the reason that he had joined the Organization. The mysterious young woman who haunted his dreams at night. Axel sometimes had a horrible feeling that Lea was his Other. He wondered. Wouldn't that beat all! His Other, a female. If that was true, then he might just continue being a Nobody. Horrible, sick laughter bubbled in his throat…then he suppressed it. Now was not the time to have a mental breakdown. Save that for later. If he _was_ going to go mad, he would die before he did it before these two.

"Well, hurry up pyro!" snapped Larxene. She formed a Dark Corridor and vanished inside of it.

"You heard her" Vexen said imperiously. "Get in, before I report you." He vanished as well. Axel sighed and stepped into the portal, wondering what this meeting was going to be about.

The inside of the Meeting Tent, which doubled as Xemnas' sleeping area was dark and smelly. It stood in the center of the Camp That Never Was. It was large enough to accommodate all the members. Someone (probably Xibar) had spray painted the Organization's symbol on the side of the tent.

"There you are, old boy" Luxord said to Axel as the three of them appeared in the tent. He had engaged Xibar and Marluxia in a game of poker.

"We thought you had finally run off" said Xaldin. He was watching the game, his six lances in one hand. Even at this calm scene, he had a small current of wind generated. He wasn't known as the "Whirlwind Lancer" for nothing.

"I had some business to do" Axel snapped. He didn't know why the other member didn't seem to trust him anymore. Admitted, they didn't trust Marluxia or Larxene much either, but they seemed to have it in for him. Perhaps it was because he had helped Sora, and that was a big no-no.

Before Axel could think anymore about anything, the man himself stepped forward. Xemnas, Once Xeonhort, Superior or Organization XIII. He seemed to cast a pall over the room. Cards were dropped, idle chit-chat stopped; eyes were drawn to him, to the aura of _power_ that he projected. This power was not dark, it was not light, it was _nothing. _It was as if a huge space had been cut out of the fabric of existence and cut into the shape of a man. That was Xemnas.

"Sit down, all of you" said the Superior. They all sat in the camping chairs that made up the Number Seats that had once been used for meetings like these. "It has come to my attention, via Zexion, that something has happened. I myself sensed it, although I did not give it much notice at the time."

"And what would that be, sir?" asked Saix. Axel snorted in disgust. Saix was Xemnas' right hand man. If anyone was going to inherit the position of Superior if Xemnas kicked the bucket, it was the "Luna Diviner". He had the brains---and, Axel grudgingly admitted---the power to step forward to take that role. Worse, Saix seemed to know this. It bled into every action the man took. Axel hated Saix even more than he hated Larxene.

"I was about to say that when I was interrupted" Xemnas said, looking at Saix. The Luna Diviner looked away quickly. Axel gave a small smile of satisfaction that he quickly covered.

"If Zexion would be so kind as to explain the situation" Xemnas said. "I will explain why it is so important to our …'existence'."

Zexion stood up. The Cloaked Schemer cleared his throat. "Three days ago, I was gathering berries from one of the bushes…"

"You mean, _I _was gathering berries, and you were sitting on a rock, talking" Lexaeus muttered.

"And I was suddenly assailed by a sense of darkness so immense that it was overwhelming."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Xibar. "Are you saying that there's some other force out there?"

"That is _exactly_ what I'm saying" said Zexion, nodding his head. This nod caused the hair piece in front of his eye to flop. He hurriedly placed it back down. "What I mean to say is that there is a darkness out there…but at the same time it is like a thousand hearts."

"A darkness…" there were mutters among the assembled members.

"A darkness in which a thousand hearts are buried" said Xemnas. "What is more, this creature, whatever it is, appears to be mobile."

"But that would mean…" Saix said, his voice choked with awe.

"It would mean that we have a walking Kingdom Hearts said Xemnas. "Maleficent must have unknowingly used the power of Kingdom Hearts to create this being. The thousands of hearts must have been absorbed into the very stone of the Castle" said Vexen. "Since energy never can be destroyed, it merely found another pathway, becoming the energy that powered the machines. I can guess what she did. She used my machines that I used to create…to create that replica."

"This is totally _awesome!_" Demyx cried. "All we have to do is find this thing, and we've got instant Kingdom Hearts!"

"Yes…" said Xemnas, and Axel saw that glazed madness come into his eyes again. "We will have Kingdom Hearts this time…and this time…things will be different. Much different." He raised his hands. A cloud of Sorcerer Nobodies appeared before him. "The go!" he cried. "The time has come. The time for us to regain our castle is nigh! We will punish the fools who thought to use it for their own inept ends! LET US REGAIN OUR HOME!!!" he roared. All of the members opened Dark Corridors at the same time. The time had indeed come.


	17. Sora and RoxasKairi and Namine

**Roxas and Sora/Kairi and Namine **

Sora walked up and down in his room. He was thinking about all the cool things Riku and Kairi would get to do over the break, while he and Donald and Goofy were tracking down some old and evil sorceress. "Darn it!" Sora snapped as he punched the wall. His room was very nice. A four poster bed, and curtains, and the floor was blanketed with red carpet. A mural of him, Donald, and Goofy fighting the Maleficent Dragon was on the wall. Sora blushed as he looked at it. "I can't believe this!" Sora yelled. "Why me?" he seemed to be in cyclic moods. He would feel fine about the new mission, confident even, and then the thoughts of missing summer break would eat at him with their ratty little teeth and he would feel a surge of anger.

_Hey! _said a voice suddenly. Sora looked around. It seemed to come from within his head. Sora turned to see a shape forming in the air near the bed. Sora summoned the Keyblade with a thought.

_What are you doing?_ the voice asked. _It's me._

"Oh" Sora said. "It's just you, Roxas."

Roxas's shape finally formed. He was transparent, like the last time Sora had seen him. He did not look happy. In fact, he looked downright furious.

_You freaking idiot!_ he screamed. _What Light were you _thinking _when you did that? You could have gotten us both killed! We were way out of our league. _Maybe _with the Drive power we might have stood a chance_ _against Tine, but just plain fighting? If I hadn't used my powers to call some heart energy, we would be dead! Do you hear me?! _Dead!

"Jeez" Sora said. "That was you? No wonder I didn't know what I was doing."

_Did you hear a word of what I said? No, I guess you didn't. _Roxas shrugged. _Never mind. There's something else. Do we _have_ to go find Maleficent? Couldn't we just go back to the Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi? Please?" _

"You just want to go back so you can be with Namine" said Sora.

Roxas looked away. _So what_ he snapped. _I…okay, so I like her. _You _like Kairi! So there!_

Sora smiled as he blushed. "Yeah, well you got me. I like her…but I'm not sure she likes me, with all the stuff about avoiding me and Riku…wait a minute! Why am I telling you this? You already know, just like I know you like Namine!"

_Good point_ said Roxas. _But that's not important. The important thing is that if we go up against like that Tine again, we'll be dead. You'll get Donald and Goofy killed too. Do you want that? Do you? _Roxas pressed.

"No" said Sora. "But I don't want Tine to destroy any worlds, either. It could be Disney Castle, or even the Islands!"

_…Fine_ said Roxas. _But don't say I didn't warn you when we wind up floating down there in the Underworld before we even get a chance to get old._ Then Roxas faded. Sora looked at the place where his Nobody had been a little while ago. Then he sighed and walked out of the door.

Kairi was getting into the beautiful white and gold Gumi ship that was going to take her and Riku to Disney Castle, and from there, the Destiny Islands. She sighed as she thought of Sora. She didn't know why she avoided him and Riku anymore. It was just that…they were…well…a bit scary. Riku, whose heart was forever scarred by the darkness, had those odd abilities…and Sora, who wielded the Keyblade for heaven's sake! It was just too much to handle. To be with such people seemed frightening. Plus, she found that she wanted to forget some of the things she had seen out there, beyond the pleasant, peaceful Islands. The people who kidnapped her, Organization XIII were a ruthless bunch. They would hurt or kill anyone who got in the way of their goals. The man who called himself Saix had scared her, though she had put on a brave face. He looked like calm dog that is just _waiting_ for the moment his master tells him to bite, who _lives_ for that moment. And, judging from his behavior during his battle against Sora, and Donald and Goofy, it seemed she had guessed his character accurately. Such things were better off forgotten. She thought all of this as she got into the Gumi ship.

"Are you okay?" said Riku, as he got into the driver's seat. "You look pale Kairi."

"I'm just thinking" Kairi said. "It's hard, you know? Leaving Sora, even though he…well…he kind of…"

"Scares you" Riku said.

Kairi's eyes widened. "How…how did you know?"

"Look" said Riku. "I know how you feel. When I was…_her _apprentice, I kept looking at you while you were unconscious. It was scary knowing that you had been friends with one of the Seven Princess's of Heart. I kept wondering whether you had known all along, or if you hadn't, and whether I was doing the right thing…it got so bad I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I even dreamed about it."

Kairi looked at Riku, and was about to say something, when Riku looked into the back seat. "I think you should go back there" he said. "Someone's waiting for you. Don't worry, I'll put the glass partition over the front. I don't want to intrude on girl talk."

"What do you---?" Kairi was about to ask, when she saw that Namine was in the back seat, as transparent as a ghost. "What is it?" Kairi asked.

"Just come over here" Namine asked Kairi.

"Alright."

As she climbed in the back, Kairi looked at Namine. Her Nobody looked terrible. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her eyes themselves were red as if she had been crying. She was pale and tired looking.

"Oh my God, Namine" Kairi said. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, hi Kairi" Namine said. "It's nothing. But I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to ask you if we could go back to Radiant Garden and stay with Sora."

"_What?"_ Kairi asked.

"Please" Namine pleaded. "I won't ever ask another favor like this again. I know you're the dominant mind, but I _have _to see Roxas again. He said he misses me, and wanted to see me before Sora led him to his certain death."

Kairi suddenly felt a bone freezing chill. This was horrible. Their Nobodies had formed a relationship. Kairi hadn't seen much of Sora, but during the few times she had, Roxas and Namine, who had already made it quite clear that they were attracted to each other, had become sweethearts.

"Oh _Christ_" Kairi said, putting her head in her hands. This…she didn't even have words to describe it. What would happen if she or Sora got a boyfriend or a girlfriend? Then what? Would Roxas and Namine take over their bodies to try and see each other? It was just too complicated to even imagine.

"Fine" said Kairi. "But first we're going to stop somewhere." Namine nodded and disappeared.

"So how'd it go?" Riku asked when Kairi climbed back into the passenger seat.

"I thought you said that you weren't going to interfere with girl talk" Kairi said icily.

"Wow" said Riku. "I think that cracking sound you heard is ice climbing over my body. What happened?"

"Riku" Kairi said in as calm a voice as possible under the circumstances. "I want you to just drive somewhere."

"Where to?" Riku asked. "Remember, we're going back to the Des---"

"No, no we're not. At least, I'm not" said Kairi. "We're going to stop somewhere first."

"And that would be?" Riku said, making the ship hover over the Radiant Garden hangar.

"Twilight Town" said Kairi. The ship flew off into space, on a high speed journey to the neighboring world.

Though they didn't know it then, that was the moment when the wheels of Riku's ordeal began to turn.


	18. Tina and her friends

**Tina and her friends **

Hayner put Tine down when they arrived through a hole in the wall surrounding the town and protecting it from the woods. She found that she could stand a bit more steadily on her own, although she was still in a lot of pain. Tine made a mental note: wounds from the Keyblade did not heal quickly.

"Here's the town!" said Ollette. "What do you think of it?

"It's alright" Tine said, not knowing anything about it yet. She wondered how she was going to ditch these three and find a place where she could recover in peace, and plan her revenge on Sora and his friends. Her thoughts were interrupted, not surprisingly, by Ollette.

"Tina, come on! We're going to show you a Twilight Town delicacy!"

Tine sighed and followed. She noticed that the one called Pence was still eyeing her oddly, and keeping his distance. He hadn't accepted her as readily as Hayner and the Ollette. She wondered why. It wasn't as if there was anything obviously wrong with her. She looked like an average teenager, and had a full knowledge of everyday life concepts, although she was technically only four days old. She could do algebra and all sorts of complicated math, beyond her age. Maleficent insisted on an educated weapon, and added that to the magical download. She shrugged. Oh well. It wasn't as if he was going to do anything to her, and even if he was, it didn't matter. She was growing stronger by the minute. Already she was stronger than she had been in the mansion. Her strength grew even more, because she could sense that Twilight Town was close to the Dark Realm. She followed Hayner and Ollette to a booth.

"Four Sea Salt ice creams please" said Ollette.

"Sure thing" said the man in the booth, as Ollette gave him the munny.

"You'll love this" said Hayner. He held out a square blue ice cream bar on a stick.

"Ummm…alright" Tine said. She took it hesitantly. She wondered what it would taste like. With one more sigh, Tine stuck it in her mouth. Its salty taste immediately flooded her mouth. "Yuck!" she said. "It's salty, and…" then, with incredible speed that was matched only by its flavor, the sweetness came in the salt's wake. "It's sweet!" Tine gasped.

There was laughter. This time, even Pence joined in. "Everyone who tries their first Sea Salt ice cream says that" Pence said once he had gotten over his laughter.

"I like it" Tine said, licking the residue off her fingers. "So this is a Twilight Town delicacy, eh?" she looked around at the town. "I might like this place" she said. And that was when the voice called to her.

"Hey! You! Blood Head!"

Realizing that the voice was referring to her red hair, Tine turned, at the same time hearing Pence, Hayner, and Ollette groan. A boy in a long white coat and a black cap with some kind of silver symbol on it was swaggering toward them. Another powerfully built guy with a red shirt and black sweatpants was walking behind him. Further still behind them was a girl in a purple shirt and yellow pants. Her one visible brown eye glared coldly at them.

"Well, if it isn't the Loser's Club" said the boy with the coat, who Tine identified as the leader. "Looks like they've got a new member guys" he said. "Let's welcome her to Twilight Town!"

"Who are you?" Tine asked.

The boy with the red shirt walked all the way up to Tine, forcing her to back up a few steps. "He's Seifer, ya know?" he said. "Leader of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee, ya know? And I'm Rai, his number two man, ya know?"

"No, I don't know" Tine said sarcastically. "I'm new here."

Pence and Ollette gasped. No one smarted off to Rai, unless they wanted an ass kicking. It was just the way things worked with the three bullies who called themselves the Disciplinary Committee.

"Smart mouth" said the girl with the one eye.

"Yeah, Fuu" said Seifer, walking up to Tine, cracking his knuckles. "I know you were in the old mansion, off the town grounds" he said. "That's against the rules. Since you're new here, and you already look like you went through the wringer, I'll let you off with a few punches."

Tine shrugged, and then said "Fine. Hit me" and looked him right in the eye.

Seifer was about to give the girl a lot more than a few socks in the face, he was going to give her the beating of her life, but then he looked at her green eyes and saw something terrible. Something that was all insane darkness. Suddenly, the idea didn't seem like such a good one. And, although it was a hot summer afternoon, it suddenly seemed to be thirty degrees below zero, and he found that he was shivering.

"W-we'll see you get your punishment" he chattered. "Come on guys!" the three of them stormed off.

"What did you do?" Hayner asked. "What did you _do_ just now?"

"You're some kind of god, I know it" said Pence. "I've _never_ seen Seifer as scared as he was right now. And you didn't even _touch_ him!"

"Bullies are just afraid of people standing up to them" Tine said, the downloaded bit of wisdom coming easily to her lips.

Ollette shook her head. "No, you don't get it. People _have_ stood up to that creep and his goons. He jus beats them back down. This is a first. It's like seeing a miracle or something."

"Or chance" said Tine.

"Stop trying to downplay it, Tina" said Hayner. "You're going to be a legend around here, I just know it."

_That would depend on how long I'm here, my friends_ Tine thought. Then her stomach rumbled. Tine suddenly realized she was hungry. She could go without eating for a period of four days, but it had been four days since she had been birthed from the tank in Maleficent/Vexen's lab.

"Don't worry" Hayner said. "Once we get to the Usual Spot, we can have the muffins Pence's mom made. She's a baker and her stuff's really good."

"Okay" Tine said. "Then what are we waiting for?"

The three of them made it to the Usual Spot. It was a nice place, Tine saw. It had couches and things, and it was hidden from the eyes of bullies like Seifer and his gang.

"So what do you do here?" Tine asked. "Is there anyway I could get a job or something?"

"Oh yeah" said Pence. "That's easy. You can just ask people if they need anything done."

"Not that you'll do it Tina" said Hayner. "You're injured. By that rat Sora, no less."

Tine suddenly noticed a bright light in the corner of the room. "What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, that?" Ollette said. "It's a Gumi Port. It let's people from Gumi ships teleport from the ships here. It's an old one though, and the only ones who use it anymore are Sora, Donald, and Goofy."

Tine's eyes widened. She scooted a little bit away from it. What if Sora came through the Port right now? He would be upon her in an instant. She _might_ be able to get away, but it was a slim chance. More likely she would be killed.

"I don't blame you" said Ollette. She had seen Tine's momentary panic.

"It's not that…it's just….what if he comes back? You'll…" Tine made it seem as if she was debating with herself. "You'll protect me from Sora, right?"

"You bet we will!" Hayner said. "After what you did with Seifer, you bet!"

"Good" said Tine, and her eyes glowed yellow for a minute. Only Pence saw this and he shuddered. While he hated Seifer, and was happy that Tina had driven him away, he could understand how the bully had felt.


	19. Homecoming

**Homecoming **

Maleficent saw Pete off at the beginning of a Dark Corridor that led to Twilight Town. "Remember Pete" she said. "You are not to return until you have Roman Numeral Thirteen bound and gagged. You have a budget of ninety nine thousand munny to spend. That is the maximum. This Xavier's Flyer's group is not going to be cheap. They'll want a lot, especially if they have to go off-world to do it."

"I know" said Pete. "Why didn't you tell me about the plan?" he complained.

"Because, you fool, I couldn't trust you to keep it a secret" was the response.

Pete stepped into the portal. It was like entering a cold shower of mist and he didn't like it. But, such was life. Once Maleficent ruled the worlds, there was going to be a lot more usage of Dark Corridors. He disappeared inside of it.

After Pete was gone, Maleficent looked around at the balcony. It was odd, not having him around. Now she would be alone in the castle by herself. Well, it was no big deal. She could use the time to catch up on magic reading and casting. Suddenly, she was aware of eyes on her. Maleficent whirled around toward the stairs. Another Dark Corridor had opened. Maleficent gritted her teeth in rage. That fool Pete! He was as inept at using the darkness power as he was at everything else.

"You imbecile!" Maleficent stormed, going up to the portal. "You don't open a second one in the same area that you're standing in---" her words cut off in a gasp as a man in a long black robe stepped out. He was wearing an unpleasant smile that spoke of hidden viciousness. His yellow eyes were cold and an X shaped scar crossed his forehead. Maleficent recognized him, not by name, but by affiliation.

"Organization XIII!" she gasped. This was impossible. The Organization was dead! Killed by that little triumvirate led by Sora! This thing was obviously an illusion, a hallucination brought on by too much stress. Maleficent told it this.

"Too much stress, eh?" the man said. He seemed to consider this. "Hmmm…if I were a hallucination brought on by too much stress, would I do _this?" _faster than she could follow, he pulled out a large claymore. He swung it in an arc, smashing it into the wall. Patterns of blue flame spread out cracking the stone. "I didn't think so" he said to Maleficent's shocked face. Then it grew worse. Portals began to form all over the walkway. Laughter flowed from each of these twelve portals. Along with a flood of Nobodies. Sorcerers, Dancers, Snipers, Assassins, Berserkers, Gamblers, Samurais, Creepers, and Dusks crawled, walked, skipped, and hopped out of them as well. It was at this point that Maleficent fainted.

When she woke, she was in a cell. It was in the very basement level of the Castle. It was below even the laboratories where she had created Tine. Maleficent stood up, and took in her surroundings. She noticed right away that she was missing her staff.

"Where is my staff?" she snarled, used to being in charge.

"Oh no, I'm afraid that won't do" said a voice outside her cell. Maleficent turned to see a man in a black robe appear. One lock of silver hair fell in front of one eye, covering it. "You are no longer the mistress of this castle" he said. "So you would be well advised not to act so."

"Who are you?" Maleficent demanded, no less forcefully than before. The robed man sighed.

"Number six in the Organization, Zexion, and the Cloaked Schemer."

"You think" Maleficent said, "That because you invaded _my_ castle, that I am no longer its mistress?" she laughed. "Things have changed since you infested this place with your nonexistent minions. There are places that only _I_ can go into, security systems that only _I_ can decode."

Zexion waited until she was finished. "Do you mean the retina scanner and voice activation machine that you installed into Vexen's lab?" he asked. His form abruptly glowed. When the light faded, Maleficent saw herself standing before the cell. "So much for your 'security' systems, eh?" Zexion/Maleficent said with her voice. "It was child's play to infiltrate that place. As we speak, we are remodeling this poor place."

"You can't do this!" Maleficent growled in anger. "I have allies and thousands of troops---"

"You have no troops, and your allies are based in their own worlds" said Zexion lazily, shifting back to his true form. "I can not be bothered by the lies of a foolish old witch. Now, I did not come here to discuss castle fashions, or the matter of who is in charge of the World That Never Was. What we came to discuss was the experiment that you created using some of the same methods that Vexen used to create the Riku Replica. We know that you lost control of what you spawned in that tank. Where is it?" the last words were a hiss.

"I have no idea" Maleficent snapped. "Why don't you look in your hearts---oh, that's right, you don't have them."

At first the Cloaked Schemer looked absolutely murderous…then he calmed down. "Oh, that's all right" he said. "You don't have to tell me anything. But hunger and thirst do a lot for a person when there's information to be had. Remember that, witch!" he then teleported in a flash of dark energy.

Maleficent sighed. She didn't know what she was going to do. For the first time in her long life, Maleficent found that she didn't have a backup plan. This was a completely illogical invasion. It was _impossible_. Organization XIII was _dead_. At least she thought they were. Apparently the boy had not done as good a job as he thought. Oh, what else was new? "I'm surrounded by _fools!!_" Maleficent shrieked and raged. The metal walls were good companions. They listened patiently and didn't complain at all. Maleficent was glad for that.

She had a feeling she was going to be spending a lot of time with them.


	20. Mercy before the Water Man

**Mercy before the Water Man**

The Gummi ship flew toward Twilight Town. "Will you _please_ tell me why we're going on this insane detour when we promised King Mickey that we'd have it back to them in half an hour? We've already been flying for two hours."

"We _have_ to go there" said Kairi. Her lips were pulled slightly back from her teeth in a desperate grimace. She looked like a girl who has just been punched in the stomach.

Riku finally gave up. He was worried about her. She was acting stranger and stranger. There was something else. It was a faint feeling, but it was there just the same. It was the same feeling that had knocked him to his knees at Disney Castle. It got stronger as they approached Twilight Town. He wondered what it meant. He wondered suddenly if Maleficent's experiment had managed to make it to one of the worlds like this. If so, then this was very bad. He thought about saying this to Kairi, but she was now rocking back and fourth in her seat. A bad sign. He could now see Twilight Town.

"Kairi, we're here" Riku said.

"Oh? What? Good, we're here!" she responded after some prodding. Once again, Riku wondered what was eating Kairi. She seemed to be desperately worried about something.

"Okay, we'll have to use the Gummi Port" said Riku. "It's this thing over here." He let the ship idle over the world. They stepped into the green light. There was an instant of being everywhere and yet nowhere as their molecules were reconfigured, and then they were standing inside the Usual Spot.

"Hey!" said Kairi. "I know where we are---" that was right before Ollette hit her in the head with a pillow. "Ow!" Kairi screamed, and accidentally summoned Welcoming Garden.

"_Kairi?"_ Hayner gasped. "What are you doing here? And who's that with you?"

"What are you doing?" Kairi asked.

"We thought you were Sora" Hayner answered.

"Why would you attack Sora?" Kairi asked.

Riku said nothing. He was feeling decidedly uneasy now. He could feel darkness gathered here. Kairi's Keyblade had reacted to it and was vibrating, but its wielder was too busy interrogating Hayner, Pence, and Ollette to notice. Riku repressed the urge to sigh and slap his hand over his face. Sora would've noticed immediately.

"Its' kind of hard to explain" said Hayner. "See, we met this girl named Tina, and she got the crap beaten out of her by Sora. He really hurt her."

Riku felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Tina" he asked suddenly. "What does this Tina look like?"

"She's got red hair, and stuff" said Ollette. "It's lighter than yours Kai, and yellow around the edges" she said. "And her lips are really red, and---" Riku summoned Way To Dawn and leaped over the couch and out the door.

"Riku!" Kari called. "Where are you _going?" _

_It's here_ he thought. _The beast is here, it's here and Sora hasn't gotten to it yet. Worse, it's convinced people to feel sorry for it. _Riku ran into the Struggle arena. It was deserted, yet he could sense that the trail of darkness ended here. "Come out!" Riku called. He raised Way To Dawn. "Don't think you can get away!"

Suddenly, something came out of the Dark Realm, a large black sword. Riku gripped it in his hand. "Nice attack strategy" he said. "But it was weak. You're pretty injured, aren't you?"

Tine appeared before Riku. She was indeed injured, Riku saw. Just that trick had cost her an incredible amount of energy. "One…of Sora's friends?" she said. "Riku, I presume?"

"That's my name, don't wear it out" he responded. "I told Sora this, and I guess I can tell you. I have to do something for the worlds. I think that taking a monster like you out would be a good push in that direction."

Tine was afraid. This was what she had feared. Sora or his friends would show up and she'd have no time at all to recover. Suddenly a blast of blue energy came from Riku's hand and hit Tine. She cried out as she was thrown backwards, skinning her hands and knees on the pavement. Riku came toward her with Way To Dawn raised.

"Stop!" yelled a voice near the alley. Riku turned to see the Twilight Town three standing there. "What are you doing?" Hayner yelled.

"You idiot!" Riku called. "The thing you think is Tina is just a monster. It---uh!" Tine took advantage of his distraction to kick him in the side. Weakened by Sora's attacks, Tine was still a force to be reckoned with. Riku felt ribs splinter, and he wondered what Tine was like at full strength. His respect for Sora increased.

"Riku, watch out!" Kairi yelled. She ran into the fray. Tine was about to strike Riku with her sword, when Kairi struck her in the back with Welcoming Garden. Tine fell to her knees.

"This…this…isn't…anything…Key Wielders…" she snarled through a haze of pain. Riku kicked her legs out from under her. "Be quiet monster" he said. He raised his sword to kill the creature that his former mentor had created. That was when he made the mistake of looking into her eyes. What he saw there was not a terrible monster as Seifer had seen. He saw a girl, frightened and in pain. She knew she was going to die. Yet she was glaring at them, facing death bravely and with a glare in her eyes. Riku lowered Way To Dawn.

"Riku, what is it?" Kairi said.

"I can't kill her" he said. "I just can't do it."

Kairi pushed past him. "Remember Radiant Garden!" she said. "Remember what she did to Sora! We can't let that happen again. It could happen to Twilight Town."

Hayner, Pence, and Ollette stood frozen, too horrified to move, but too horrified to look away. They knew that there was going to be a killing. It seemed that Tina was more than they had imagined. They were all surprised. Well, all except Pence.

"I can't" Riku said. "You do it Kai."

"Fine then!" Kairi snapped. She walked over to Tine's prone body. _It's like the Heartless_ she told herself. _This is no different. It's just a giant Heartless._ But as she looked in Tine's green eyes, she saw the same. She couldn't do it she found. She dismissed the Keyblade.

_Why are they letting me live? _Tine's pain blanketed mind thought. _Are they going to play with me? I don't know anymore. I hurt too much._ Then her mind decided that it wasn't going to stick around to find out. Tine blacked out.

Tine closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed to a standstill.

"Oh no!" Kairi said. "Riku, she's not breathing!"

"She's not!" Riku yelled, "Okay, then---oww!" he hissed as his broken ribs twinged.

"Wait! She's not breathing? That's bad right?" said a voice near the shed where the Struggle tools were kept. All of them turned to see a Dark Corridor appear. A black robed man with a shock of brown hair appeared. He was carrying a post it note. "But it says, find Roman Numeral Thirteen, or Tine, and bring her back unharmed and safe." He began to nervously strum the giant sitar that he was carrying slung under one arm. "Oh no, this is beginning to sound like the Roxas mission."

"_What?" _Riku wheezed. This was the final insanity. Here they were, a girl dying, him unable to move, the other panicked, and a member of a group that was supposed to be dead coming to visit. Riku lay on the ground and began to laugh.


	21. Losers Club vs Melodious Nocturne

**Losers Club vs. Melodious Nocturne **

Kairi looked at the man with the sitar…and he looked at her. They both looked at Tine who lay on the ground before them. Particles of darkness were had begun to stream from her again. Except this time it was more like a flood. Kairi didn't like the looks of that. Tine was dying. And if they didn't get her medical help soon, she would die. Kairi's frazzled mind, already burdened with the reason she had come to Twilight Town, shouted out the only thing it could think of. "Why didn't you idiots take her to the hospital, when you had the chance?" she shrieked at Hayner, Pence, and Ollette

"She didn't want to go" was all Hayner could think to say. It seemed lame, but it was all they could think of. And it was the truth. Then the man with the sitar dismissed the instrument, much like Kairi had dismissed her Keyblade. He walked over to Tine. "Are you sure she's not just pretending?" he asked. He nudged Tine with his boot---and a very worn looking Struggle bat came down a few inches from it. The Organization member looked up. Hayner stood protectively over Tine's body.

"If you touch her" he said. "You die."

The man stepped back, and regarded Hayner contemptuously, and puffed himself up. "You think you can beat me?" he asked. _"_Number nine in the Organization. Demyx, the Melodious Nocturne." He pushed Hayner in the chest, knocking the boy down.

Ollette and Pence ran off toward the alley. Kairi didn't blame them. This was a member of a very dangerous group of people. But, someone had to stop them. Riku was muttering and laughing to himself in a corner. He seemed to have temporarily lost his mind. So there was only one choice. "Get away from her, before I kick your ass" Kairi threatened, sounding a lot braver than she felt. She settled her body into the attack position she had seen Sora use when he was practicing at home on the Islands with his Keyblade.

Demyx hesitated. "How can _you_ defeat me?" he asked. "You don't look so tough."

"Have you forgotten _me_ Demyx?" asked Namine from Kairi's mouth. "After all, you're terrified of me. When I first came under the Organization's control, you wore tin foil hats for two months, afraid I was tampering with your memories from far away."

Demyx grinned and waved his finger at Namine. "Ah, ah, ah," he said. "I know the basics. Once you become joined with your Other, you can't use any of your Nobody powers. It's a proven fact."

"True" said Kairi, in charge of her mouth once more. "But now, I have a Keyblade, and I can kill you, Nobody."

"We'll see" said Demyx. He summoned his sitar. He was about to start playing it, when Kairi heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Ollette and Pence run back from the alley. Kairi groaned. Ollette was carrying what looked like a large silver muffin plate. Pence was carrying a table leg. Not much in the way of weapons, or warriors.

"Get away from Tina, before the Losers Club of Twilight Town puts you in your place, man!" Pence shouted.

"That's _Tine_, not _Tina_ or whatever name she was using" said Kairi. "But that's good enough."

"So you're going to take me on with _those_?" Demyx chortled with laughter. "Let's make this quick."

"With pleasure" said Hayner. He took his place with Kairi, Pence, and Ollette. They all rushed forward.

"Dance, water, dance!" Demyx cried. There was a cracking sound as pipes beneath the arena burst and spilled their water up into the street. Strumming his instrument madly, Demyx danced out of reach of Welcoming Garden. A string of water balls slammed into Pence, knocking him down.

"Ahh!" he cried.

"Pence!" Ollette cried. She rushed at Demyx with the silver tray, intent on hitting him with the heavy object. Demyx bashed her in the face with his sitar's handle. Ollette went flying, blood streaming from her nose. She hit the ground and lay motionless.

Hayner rushed Demyx. He got inside of the Nobody's guard, ducking under the flailing sitar, and swung out with the struggle bat, and hit---a clone made of water!

"What the---?" Hayner snarled in anger.

"Oh, I've got something _special_ for you" Demyx said. He made a bubble of water form around Hayner's head. The boy gurgled and tried to scream. Hayner clawed at the water bubble that was slowly choking him, but it wouldn't budge. He fell to his knees, his face turning blue under the water.

"Hayner!" Kairi yelled. Demyx casually kicked her in the stomach, sending her to the pavement with a scream of fury and pain.

"Isn't it awesome?" Demyx asked. He strummed the sitar again, and bubbles of water began to pelt them mercilessly. Ollette managed to get within ten feet of him, before she was pummeled down by the water balls.

"Ha, ha! You'll _never _beat me!" Demyx smirked. "I told you that you were no match for Organization XIII. You sure are the Loser's Clu---" Pence's table leg slammed into his stomach, sending the Nobody backward, gasping in pain and surprise. Kairi took advantage of Demyx's discomfort to reach Hayner. The boy was now motionless and silent. Kairi reached into the bubble of water around his head. It was touch and jellylike; she couldn't get it off. Then, and idea that was more instinct than actual thought occurred to her. She summoned Welcoming Garden and pointed it at Hayner. "Release" she said. A beam of green light shot from the tip and popped the bubble. Hayner lay on his side, gasping for air. Suddenly a shadow fell over Kairi.

"Now I have you!" Demyx slammed Kairi with his sitar. The Nobody's strength was immense. It was like being hit with a freight train. Kairi went flying into a bench, shattering it to splinters. _Those splinters are going to be tough to get out_ she thought dreamily. _I hope mom and dad won't have to use a needle._ Demyx was getting ready for another salvo of water bombs, when Ollette threw the heavy silver muffin plate. It hit number nine in the face; he screamed and clutched his nose.

"For Tine!" Hayner drove the Struggle bat into Demyx's back with the force of revenge.

"Gahhh!" Demyx said and staggered forward. Pence struck him across the face with the table leg, at the same time Kairi and Ollette got to work with Welcoming Garden, and the muffin plate.

Tine meanwhile had regained consciousness, and was watching the whole scene unfold. She didn't know who the black robed man was, but he didn't exactly make her feel comfortable. She couldn't sense light, or darkness from him. It was more of a _nothing._ She didn't know why he or this _Organization XIII_ wanted her. She had never heard of them at all; it had not been downloaded. But whatever their intentions were, she got the feeling that they weren't good. Then Tine stopped thinking about that, and began to think about her obvious problem. She was dying; she could feel her life force ebbing fast. She was soon going to be a lifeless shell, all darkness fading. She had been hit with too many Keyblades, and expended too much energy. She looked over the ruined arena. _I need darkness_ she thought frantically. _I need to get darkness from somewhere!_ It was beginning to get harder and harder to think clearly. Then Tine noticed the boy who had attacked her. Riku, his name was. He was sitting and rocking back and fourth in a corner. He was drenched from the water spray of the man in black's attacks. He claimed to be an ally of the light, but he was filled with the darkness power. If she could just absorb a little from him, she might be able to prolong her life until she could get to a hospital. Tine crawled as slowly as she could over the cracked pavement. She didn't want to attract the attention of the others. Finally, after what seemed like a millennium, she reached Riku.

"Riku" Tine croaked. She was amazed at how weak her voice sounded. She looked at her hands. They were flickering and she could feel that her time was almost up. The boy looked at her. He didn't seem to recognize her. He simply kept muttering nonsense words to himself.

"Okay then" Tine whispered. This was going to hurt him, but he seemed to be in too much of a daze to notice. She hoped it wouldn't hurt too much. Even in her dazed state, Tine wondered why she was worried about why one of Sora's friends, one of Sora's friends who had _hurt_ her no less, would be alright. She laid one hand on his chest. "Siphon Dark" she muttered. Immediately Riku's excited mutterings turned into screams of pain. His body went into spasms as coils of darkness power surged up Tine's arm.

To Tine it was like a cool drink of water after years in the desert without fluids. She tried to control how much she took. Tine wasn't human, she was brimming over the top with darkness power at the best of times, if a human amassed as much power as she had normally, they would be a Heartless. The void left by that power was massive. Riku's darkness instinctively flowed to fill that void. She didn't want to drain it all from him. She stopped after a while. Riku now lay unconscious. His power would renew itself in a few hours. Tine was still too weak to walk, but she wasn't on the brink of death anymore. She lay gasping, trying to gather herself. She wondered if she could use a Corridor to escape. Then she decided against it. She didn't want to use that much energy.

"Water!" Demyx called. A string of geysers erupted, splitting the ground like paper. They tracked the movements of Kairi's group.

"Come on!" Kairi called. "If we fight together, we can WIN this!" she saw Pence get hit by a geyser and fall down. Then he got up and rushed at Demyx. The Organization member was flagging badly now, Kairi could see. He looked tired and he wasn't exchanging as much small talk as before. He looked seriously concerned about losing the battle.

Pence's vicious swipe with the table leg hit Demyx in the side. "Agh!" he screamed. Ollette smashed him across the face with the muffin plate, followed by Hayner's bat.

Kairi came running up to him, her Keyblade wrapped in an aura of green light.

"N-no! Wait!" he called to her. But the young Keyblade Master paid no attention. She continued to rush at him. Kairi jumped high into the air. The aura surrounding Welcoming Garden became huge. Flower shaped patterns formed along the energy channel. "And…now…for the…FINAL ATTACK!!!!" she screamed. She slammed Demyx directly with the blast. A green explosion of light spread out for twenty feet, demolishing the buildings. The energy wave passed through Hayner, Pence, Ollette, and Riku without harming them. Tine felt a small stinging tingle, but that was all. Demyx's body disappeared inside the nexus of the explosion.

"Uwwwwwaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!" Demyx screamed. The Melodious Nocturne slumped to the ground, his robes torn and shredded, his sitar ruined, blackened and cracked, its strings snapped. He then staggered to his feet, and stood swaying. His hair was standing in all kinds of weird directions, and his face was singed. "Y-you kids…you kid…you c-c-can't _do_ this!" he cried, holding up a badly burned note. "I h-have orders from Superior Xemnas!"

"Well, Superior Xemnas can take his orders and shove them---" before Hayner could finish, Kairi stepped forward. "Unless you want some more of that, clear out of here---now!" as if to emphasize this point, a spark of green sizzled along the length of Welcoming Garden.

A Dark Corridor opened behind Demyx. "Fine!" he huffed. "I'll remember you all!" A squishy and melted Sea Salt ice cream hit him in the chest, sticking to his tattered robe.

"Remember that!" Pence cried. "Tell your Superior it came from us!"

Demyx beat a hasty retreat to the portal, where it closed behind him.

The moment he was gone, everyone collapsed. They were tired, and soaking wet. Kairi was tired from using that special ability. Angel's Embrace she called it. She had never actually put it to practice in a battle situation. She was also realizing how close to death they had come, how lucky they had been. If it had been another member---Saix for instance---then they would have fallen very quickly, most likely without having even landed a single blow.

"Don't…ever….do…that…again…" Kairi panted. "You could have been killed. Next time, leave it to people who are trained for taking out the universe's scum." She pointed to Welcoming Garden. "Keyblade Masters are those people!"

Hayner gave a choking laugh. "What do you mean?" asked. He still looked a little blue. He had come the closest to dying. "If it weren't for us…he would have killed you and taken Tine."

"Where _is_ Tine?" said Pence, leaning against the wall.

"I don't know" Ollette said. "Tine, where are you?"

Kairi saw Riku lying unconscious. Tine was missing.

"I'm going to find that experiment" Kairi said, hefting Welcoming Garden. Before Hayner, Pence, and Ollette could protest, she ran off toward the rest of town. Perhaps it was time to start rethinking that earlier sentimentality


	22. Interrogation

**Interrogation **

As Demyx walked through the hallways of the Castle That Never Was, he was full of shame. He could hear snickers at his appearance among his fellow members. It was a good thing that those were few and far between. He was able to avoid the worst of it, though Axel did make a comment about him replacing the Good Humor man.

But none of that occupied his mind. His mind was filled with horrific images of what Xemnas would do to him once he revealed that he had not returned with Tine. He supposed it wouldn't be _too_ bad. It had just been a lucky guess after all. Vexen, digging through Maleficent's computer records with all the grace of a particularly bad tempered rhino, had uncovered that her henchman Pete was going to Twilight Town, from there to Hollow Bastion to seek the help of Xavier's Flyers. That name sounded so familiar…but that was another issue, for the higher ups to deal with. The point was that if Pete was going to Twilight Town, then Demyx was to follow him and eventually capture him. If he encountered Maleficent's experiment, then he was to capture her. Demyx had seen the fight between Tine and Riku, and he had seen his chance. But just when he was going to take the badly injured creature, those little brats had shown up and ruined everything! Demyx's many burns, cuts, and bruises zinged and stung. His robe hung in tatters, ice cream splattered was all over his front, and his hair was ruined. After he had worked so hard to get it that way too. Worse, oh so much worse, his beloved sitar was ruined. Now, he was on his way to see the Superior. Xemnas' office was located at the very top of the Castle. He had only been there once, and that had been when he had first joined the Organization. He took the elevator, sharing it with a couple of Dusks who were lugging cans of white and silver paint as they strove to return the place to its former appearance.

The hallway the office of Xemnas was long and huge. It had a high ceiling. Statues of gargoyles and other leering monsters decorated the walls. Demyx wondered if the Superior made the way to his office look like this on purpose, just to scare people as they got there, making them more in awe of him than they already were. He finally arrived at the doors. They were made of solid, dark wood. They were strange looking in the white walls. His torn glove knocked hesitantly on it.

"Come in" Xemnas' deep voice said calmly.

Demyx pushed open the doors. The Superior's office was comfortably warm. It was a huge room, and the floors were carpeted with white, or course. There was a fireplace in which a fire was lit. A large wood desk was in the center, and Xemnas himself sat in a cushioned chair, sorting the papers of the day to day affairs of the Organization. A tray of small biscuits, held by a pair of Sorcerer Nobodies was next to him. All traces of Maleficent's presence in the office had been erased.

"Why, Demyx" said Xemnas. "You look terrible. Did you get into a fight with Axel?"

"No, sir" Demyx said respectfully. "I…had some trouble on a mission."

"And what mission would that be?" the Superior asked. Demyx knew that Xemnas knew exactly what mission it was. He was just leading up to a big finish. He hoped that finish would be an insult and not something worse.

"I…" he stood up straight, and tried to keep his knees from trembling. "I encountered Roman Numeral Thirteen, otherwise known as Tine, sir" he said. "I found the experiment in a terrible state sir, and tried to apprehend her. However…the people who had put her in such a state caught up to me and…well…"

"You lost to some girl who barely knows how to use a Keyblade, and a group of three civilians, who can't even fight correctly, and resort to using objects as weapons" Xemnas said. He leaned backwards in his chair. "Demyx, Demyx…what am I going to do with you?"

Demyx's mouth was suddenly dry. "How did you know? Sir" he added hurriedly.

"Do I need to explain my sources to you, Number Nine?" Xemnas asked coldly.

"No sir! I just…I was just curious…"

"Well, it is impertinent to ask your Superior such questions, especially for one of your rank. Do not forget that." Xemnas motioned to another chair. "Sit, sit. You look dead on your feet."

"Thanks" Demyx said gratefully. "Those kids really beat me up pretty badly---" he realized what he had said and was quiet.

"You have ice cream on your robe" Xemnas said, sounding genuinely curious. "Is that another result of the battle?"

"Yes it is, actually" Demyx said. "This kid…he said that I was to give it to you. And…that…we could remember this."

Xemnas' eyes narrowed, and suddenly Demyx saw something insane and irrational gleaming in them. "We will remember this. Oh, yes! Yes! Organization XIII _will_ remember their brave deeds today!" then he stopped. "Demyx" he said. "I would love to spend more time clearing up the details of this mission, but I have a more important thing to discuss with the witch who was squatting in this castle before us." He waved his hand to signal that Demyx was dismissed.

At the same time Demyx teleported, he saw Axel drag Maleficent into the room through the same doors he himself had come through. As the darkness enfolded him with cold arms, he winced. It didn't look like it was going to go well for Maleficent.

Maleficent saw with displeasure that Xemnas had managed to restore the office to its former appearance. She was afraid of the Organization and its Nobodies, but she did not show it. Show your opponent fear, and the game is lost before it begins. And she was facing a powerful group of opponents indeed. She had heard what went on in the room before this loathsome young man had dragged her inside. Something about Tine being injured. It seemed that maybe Sora had been more active than she thought. Either way, the time had come to find out what was going on.

"Maleficent, Maleficent" said Xemnas in a calm, friendly voice. He didn't sound angry or even annoyed. He sounded like an old friend who has waited to talk to you for a long time. "I was looking forward to this conversation for a long time. In fact, I have been looking forward to it since we came back from our long and tiresome exile."

"If you want information, I have nothing to give you" Maleficent snarled.

Xemnas folded his hands on the desk and sighed. "You have nothing for me? Are you _positively_ sure of that?"

"I am positive" Maleficent said.

Xemnas cleared his throat. "Then allow me to refresh your memory. I wish to know the details of how you created Tine---"

"Roman Numeral Thirteen" Maleficent interrupted harshly.

"Tine" said Xemnas. "I wish to know how you created Tine."

"I believe that you have a scientist among you" said Maleficent. "Why would my words be of any use to you?"

"If you answer the question, I might be persuaded to answer that" Xemnas said.

"You wish to know how I created Roman Numeral Thirteen so that you can study its weaknesses and capture it. As to why you want to capture it, it is because Thirteen has a multitude of hearts buried within it. This would be your Kingdom Hearts" Maleficent said this as calmly as if she were reciting the weather.

Xemnas said nothing as the sorceress said this. Then he leaned back in his chair. "Axel" he said. "Please, leave us. I wish this to be a private conversation." Axel nodded, and teleported in a whoosh of dark energy. When he was gone, Xemnas leaned forward a bit. "Is there something wrong with that goal?" he asked.

"Merely that you are foolish" Maleficent said. "Once the heart is lost, it is lost forever. Do you really think that you can find your hearts among that mass? It would be like looking for a yellow needle in a haystack."

"And what if I don't want to find my heart?" Xemnas asked in a deadly quiet voice.

"What?" said Maleficent.

"What if I realize that the only way to create a new empire is to duplicate the circumstances that triggered the collapse of Radiant Garden once more" Xemnas asked, his voice growing higher pitched. "What if I were going to use Kingdom Hearts to _spread _our nonexistent lives? What if I were to gather the hearts of every living being in this universe to the core of all hearts? Eh?" Xemnas was now standing up at his desk. His eyes were lit with a mad, lunatic light. "A universe of Nobodies living their nonexistent lives under _my _command! My new empire would be born!"

"You are insane" Maleficent said calmly, although she was shaking and horrified inside. The man was mad. This was awful.

"Tine's power is the key to this grand plan" Xemnas said. Suddenly, he lunged forward, and grabbed Maleficent's robe, pulling her forward into his face. "THERE'S A ABOUT A THOUSAND---NO, A BILLION DAMNED HEARTS IN THAT THING!!!" he screamed, spraying white froth and spit into her face. The Superior's face was a twisted madman's face now. "I WANT THOSE HEARTS WORKING FOR _ME_ AND ME ALONE! GOT IT, WITCH?!"

Maleficent wondered why his voice didn't carry throughout the whole Castle That Never Was, but then she realized that the office was soundproofed against prying ears that might try to hear top secret conversations.

"I apologize" Xemnas said, sitting back down, and releasing Maleficent. "I became…overexcited….but sometimes, the thought of my plan…never mind." He pressed one hand to his head as if he had a headache, but he was grinning. "Take her away" he said, and a group of Dusks and Sorcerers appeared.

Maleficent allowed them to lead her to a Dark Corridor that undoubtedly lead back to the cell. When she reached the lip of the portal, Maleficent called to Xemnas. "Sora will destroy you" she said to him, in the same calm voice that she had called him insane. "And this time, there will be no return for you."

Xemnas merely motioned with his hand. The took the witch into the portal, and she disappeared. Xemnas sat for a long time in the empty study, sitting and smiling to himself, as plans of his new empire revolved in his twisted mind.


	23. Xavier's Flyers

**Xavier's Flyers**

Sora wandered out into the Training Garden. It was a large grassy arena in the center of the Castle gardens where warriors (mostly the Warrior's Guild and the Bastion Knights) trained for battle. The clashes of swords, axes, and spears rang out through the air. Sora was meeting Donald and Goofy there. They had spent a good three days at Radiant Garden, training everyday so that when they went on their way, they would be more powerful than ever. Donald and Sora had already learned several new spells, such as Flare, Holy, and Bio. Sora had tested them out on several people when fighting. They were quick and effective. He was also relearning his Drive powers granted to him by Yen Sid's outfit. It was busy days practice fighting, reading up on genetically engineered life forms, and more practice fighting.

Sora looked up from his thoughts to see Nexumair practicing with wooden targets. Sora had seen Nexumair fight, and he was impressed by the other boy's skills. Though Nexumair barely came up to Sora's chest, he wielded his swords like a pro. He was faster than anyone Sora had seen. Sora walked up to the boy. The Captain of the Bastion Knights had been whirling around with two sabers in hand. The swords were elegant, aristocratic, with gold wire wrapped handles and silver blades. Sora noticed that Nexumair had some kind of silver necklace on a chain. The thing was tucked securely under his shirt, but he could see a bit of the sign.

"Hey, Captain" Sora said. "Wow, you really beat the snot out of those." The wooden targets had all been thoroughly defeated; all bore horrific wounds.

"Oh, that" Nexumair said, surprised from his concentration. "Yes, I train every day to keep my skills up. After all, if I never trained, I would get rusty and then I could easily be defeated by any common criminal that came along."

"I guess that's why I train too" said Sora. "Hey, Captain---"

"Oh, you can call me Nexumair, Lord Keyblade Master" said Nexumair. He began to sheath his swords. "Everyone does actually."

"Sure" said Sora. "If you'll call me Sora."

"But that would be…disrespectful to someone of your…well…stature" said Nexumair hesitantly.

"Then I guess it'll be captain from now on" said Sora. Then he and Nexumair both burst out laughing. Then Sora had a question. "Nexumair, who are Xavier's Flyers? What kind of criminals do you protect people from?"

Nexumair sighed, and his green eyes grew dark and angry. "Xavier's Flyers live in the lands around the crumbling ruin of Villains Vale, beyond the Great Maw. They are ruthless mercenaries who have been here long before I came. They are lead by someone named Xavier, though who he is I don't know. I've never seen him personally. I've heard all sorts of rumors about him, including one that says he seeks the Keyblade for himself. But I'm not sure how much of that is true, and how much of it is just rumor." He swung out with one saber abruptly cutting off a target's head. Sora blinked. He hadn't even seen the captain move. "Xavier's group commits all sorts of crimes, from plain robbery to actual murder and kidnappings. They also, as I have said, act as soldiers-for-hire for people if the price is right. Its usually off-world jobs; no one on Radiant Garden would bargain with them."

"Wow" said Sora. He looked at the necklace that Nexumair wore hidden in his shirt, and decided to change the subject. "Where did you get that? It looks like a cool pattern."

"It was given to me...it signifies something very close to my heart" the boy said. He shook his head, and his silver hair flopped around in its ponytail. "Sora, I have to warn you. Beware of Xavier's Flyers. They are a nasty group, almost but not quite on the level of Organization XIII. They will kill and maim to get what they want."

"Well, not much chance of us meeting them, is it?" Sora asked. "After all, we're leaving today for Port Royal. We're not going to meet them _there._"

Nexumair sighed. "You may regret saying that" he said. "But be careful just the same." Then he walked away.

"Wow" Sora said. "Xavier's Flyers, huh. Better tell Donald and Goofy." He ran off to tell them.

Across the Great Maw, Villain's Vale was indeed a crumbling ruin. But it was far from abandoned. The men and women of Xavier's Flyers inhabited it and the ruined buildings around it like it was their home. And it was. The people were all castaways. Some of them were refugees from ruined worlds, some were citizens of Radiant Garden who had fallen down on their luck, and others…others just joined because they wanted to. Some of the bandits even had families. Women and children were sheltered in a special part of the castle. Xavier was a ruthless leader, but he was not a monster as people thought. The leader lounged in a rusted iron chair that doubled as his throne. He was an individual of about nineteen of twenty. Xavier's shaggy blue hair had feather tied in it, and his eyes were a strange red color. He wore mismatched mixes of armor, and steel shod boots. His hands were glad in armored gloves that let the fingers poke through. In the room, large white creatures with long arms and huge, square faces lumbered around. They were his Brawler Nobodies and his personal guard. Xavier himself was a Nobody. Long ago, he had lived in Radiant Garden, an assistant of Ansem the Wise. But that _idiot_ Xeonhort had ruined everything! Well, it wasn't all bad. Xavier had joined the Organization after much pressure and prodding. After two months, he realized that it was a ship of fools bound for death. So he had "retired." In his mind, "retiring" meant running off after badly injuring Saix in a long and difficult battle. No one was sorry to see him go. Xavier had come back home and started his little band. Now, he was content. The people of his gang…they made him feel like he had a heart.

"Walter, Zane" he said as a large man wearing armor carrying a large sword, and a seven year old boy armed with a dagger came forward. The boy was carrying a note.

"We got this from a raven that stopped by. It came from a Dark Corridor, like the kind you make, boss" said the large man, whose name was Walter.

Zane passed Xavier the note. "What is this?" Xavier asked. He muttered to himself "If Maleficent thinks that she can get a free job by making up this excuse…" then his eyes widened. "No…" he said. "They _can't_ be back!" Xavier said in horror. "Dear Xavier" he recited. "I am sorry to have contacted you in this manner, but an urgent threat has come to my attention. Organization XIII, thought to be dead and gone has returned to life by means of which I know not. They have imprisoned me within the Castle that they have taken back in a most brutal manner. I have sent Diablo with this note. It contains my wishes for this matter. Xavier, you are to send your men to find Pete. He will most likely be in Twilight Town. If he is bring him to Villain's Vale. Once he is there, he is to give you _all_ the munny that I gave him. That is ninety nine thousand. It should be more than enough to satisfy you. You are to send your best men to capture Roman Numeral Thirteen. There is a massive power struggle going on. And Thirteen is at the core of it. My Alliance against Organization XIII. By the way Xavier---after you have read the note, burn it. I know that you have no love for the Organization, but in case your old ways come to the light again, I would rather not have any evidence that I contacted you. Signed, Maleficent." Xavier stared at the note in his hands for a long time. "I don't believe this" he said.

"What is it, Xavier?" asked Zane. The small boy walked up to the Nobody. Zane was an orphan that Xavier had found on the world of Ivalice on a mission there. He had stayed at the Castle That Never Was for the few months before Xavier left the Organization. Though young, he alone knew what Xavier had experienced at their hands.

"Something that was better off dead. Organization XIII. The bad people" Xavier responded. He looked at Walter. Walter was Xavier's second in command. He was one of the members of the Flyers that had actual families. His wife Alexis and their two children Karen and Starlight were some of the most loyal to Xavier that there were. Walter's skills with the sword made him one of the most powerful warriors in Radiant Garden.

"Get Fate and Ernie to Twilight Town. I'll have the Corridor waiting" Xavier said. He sighed. "So those idiots in black are back again, eh? Well, we'll weather this storm, just like we've weathered others in the past." He got up and began to pace around the room. Walter nodded and he and Zane went to get Fate and Ernie.

Soon the two Xavier was looking for were standing in front of him. Fate was a young woman with long pink hair and a gold and blue staff which marked her as a mage. Ernie was a man with a weasel like face and a large broadsword. The two of them were the best when it came to escorting/kidnapping clients or marks.

"Go to Twilight Town" Xavier ordered them. "Once you see Pete, get him. Then I'll decide what to do once he gets here." Xavier waved his hands and a portal opened. He sighed. For a creature that was supposedly without real emotions, he certainly felt stressed and trapped.

**Okay folks, this is probably going to be a very long fanfic. I just keep thinking of new ideas! Will update soon. **


	24. Riku and the Pink Beast

**Riku and the Pink Beast  
**

Pete wandered through the Market Street. He kicked a ball up and down, trying to see if he could keep it in the air for more than ten minutes, at the urging of a few local kids. Now he was worried about finding Sunset Station to go to Yen Sid's Tower. The barriers between reality and the Dark Realm were particularly thin in that place, so he wouldn't have as much trouble as he usually did when he created a Corridor. "This has got to be the worst mistake I've made" he muttered to himself. His quest was barely started, and already he was having second thoughts about it. Maybe he should have let Maleficent fire him. Then he would be free. Then that old greedy sense came back, telling him that if he did that, then he wouldn't get a piece of the pie when Maleficent's race of darkness imbued creatures overran the Keyblade Masters of the worlds. He would capture Tine, she would be reprogrammed, and then Maleficent would create others like her. It was now nearly nighttime. He could see the stars coming out in the sky. He wondered if he would see them start to wink out one by one. That was a disturbing thought. Number Thirteen could be destroying worlds right now. He could see it happening now. He picked up the pace.

"Tine! Tine, where are you?" Riku snarled. He had been searching for Tine for over four hours. It was getting late, and his stomach rumbled with hunger. This didn't add to his cheerful mood. He wondered where Tine had gone. She was very weak, so she couldn't have gone far. With his darkness powers temporarily gone he couldn't sense auras, so he had to rely on his eyes and ears to help him. Riku had been taken by Hayner and the others to the Twilight Home hospital. He seemed to be alright; he had regained his sanity. Riku was horribly ashamed of himself. He had lost his mind and become useless at a crucial moment. Kairi and the others could have been killed! He agreed with Kairi, it was only that the member was weak that they had been able to defeat him. Hayner, Pence, Ollette and the others had to get home to their parents, and Kairi was exhausted from the battle. Riku had volunteered to look for Tine himself. It was his way of making up for being absent while they kicked Demyx's water using butt. He remembered being drained by Tine, but he hadn't seen where she had gone. He had been unconscious. Riku jogged up the steps to Sunlight Hill to the park. _I'll just rest here_ he thought to himself. He walked up to the bench---and was surprised to find Tine sitting on it! The red haired girl was sitting with her face in hands. The particles of darkness leaking out of her had slowed to a sluggish flow. Her shoulders were shaking. Riku blinked. Maleficent's top experiment, Roman Numeral Thirteen, Tine, was crying! Not sure what to do, feeling uncomfortable beyond measure, Riku walked over to her.

"Are…are you alright?" he asked, feeling like an idiot. Of course this girl wasn't alright!

Tine gave a tiny shriek of surprise and fear as Riku walked up to her. She tried to get up away from the bench, but stumbled and fell. "Oh…no" she groaned. Then her tearstained face hardened. "Well, I guess this is it" she said. She sat up straight. "If you're going to kill me, then just get on with it. Don't play with me."

"You were going to do that to Sora, weren't you?" Riku asked, drawing Way To Dawn. "I could kill you slowly and _very_ painfully" he said. Tine began to shake. It was horrible, but Riku persisted. "Yes, I could make it a _very_ painful way to die. After all, you're completely helpless."

He raised Way To Dawn and brought the Keyblade smashing down---a few inches from Tine's sneaker. The experiment closed her eyes.

"But I'm not going to" he said. "Because I have a little bit of mercy. Because I'm not that kind of person. _We're _not those kinds of people. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy."

"Why?" Tine gasped through her tears. "Why are you letting me live? Why did your friends fight off that man with the sitar? Who was he?"

"A long story" Riku said. "But, I'll tell you the reason we let you live. It's because we saw that you were…well, brave. Bad people can be brave, but maybe…maybe, even though you were created by evil, maybe you could be given a second chance."

"What right do _you_ have to judge me?" Tine said. "I saw what was inside you! Your heart is scarred with darkness! You're as filled with it as a human can be and maintain their form!"

Riku said nothing. The moonlight cast shadows on his face. "That is true" he said. "If you see that, then you have to know the story of what happened to me, and how I got to be like this."

"No, I don't, but I don't need to!" Tine said. "You probably threw yourself into the dark, just to gain power and wound up a Heartless! Sora had to rescue you probably!" immediately she regretted saying that. A look of pain crossed Riku's face.

"It…wasn't…like…that…" he gritted out. His fists clenched. "It was a matter of hearts. I was trying to help someone! If anyone is to blame for that, besides me, it is _your_ creator! She tricked me!" Tine felt Riku's dark aura flare with the escalation of his rage.

"Jeez, don't have a heart attack" she said. Then, realizing the joke of what she'd said, she burst out laughing. Riku stared at her for a minute before laughing himself.

"That's a good one, Thirteen!" he laughed.

Tine's face immediately hardened. "Don't call me that. I'm not some number that everyone calls, and it follows orders. That's what that hag wanted for me!"

"So you too" said Riku quietly.

"What?" Tine asked.

"So you too have been wronged by her. She is a manipulative hag who snares anyone she can in her web of evil. It's like she has a cloud of malignant power around her" Riku said. "What happened?"

"I don't know" said Tine. "I woke up, and I was in a lab. See, I knew where I was and stuff, because it had been downloaded into my brain while I was asleep and developing. But the thing is…when I looked at Maleficent…I knew she was bad, bad and loving it. I hated her instantly. And Pete…I don't know what to think about him. He was just an idiot who dumbly went along with whatever Maleficent said. He has no spine. So I wanted to get away from them. I had this drive, this _desire_ to kill Sora. I guess it's what the hag put in my head, but I had to follow it…it was like the urge to breathe…I had to do it." Tine stopped. "I still do" she said, looking up at the sky. "I have the urge to kill all Keyblade Masters, and that includes you, Riku. But it's not so strong now. I almost died back there. Sorry about the draining" she said.

"It's alright" Riku said. "After all, my heart is 'scarred with darkness' right?"

Tine blushed. "I guess" she said, giggling a little.

Riku looked at Tine a long time as she sat, looking at the moon, the light mingling in her red hair and green, wild eyes. _No_ he thought. _This _will_ not happen. I will not _allow_ it to happen. It _can't_ happen. It's an abomination. She's only four days old for crying out loud…_ His mind said these things, but his body and heart---what was left of it---argued differently. Riku had thought of Tine as a beast when he got to Twilight Town, a beast that he must slay. Perhaps it would have been better to have slain her when he had the chance, for now the beast was showing itself. And it was not a black beast of darkness and terror…but a pink beast of blossoming love.


	25. Welcome to Port Royal

**Welcome to Port Royal**

The Gummi ships flew through the cosmos. "Everything ready?" Goofy asked. "We're gonna be at Port Royal soon."

"They haven't been in contact with the King for a while" said Donald.

"Wait! You're telling me that Disney Castle is establishing relationships with other worlds?!" Sora cried. "But you kept saying that it was supposed to be a secret!"

"Well," said Goofy. "It was. But after all that's happened, the people of the worlds know about each other. The King wants to get people to know more about each other."

"I guess that _is_ a good plan. Like what he did for Radiant Garden?"

"Yeah! Like that" said Donald. "But Port Royal doesn't respond. So we're there to see if there's something wrong. Maybe they're under attack from Heartless."

"They might be" said Sora. "I wonder if Jack's okay. We could talk to him about the problem."

Guided by Sora, the Gummi ship continued to proceed toward the world of pirates and ships. What they didn't know was that the world would soon be free of pirates forever. Lord Cutler Beckett looked out the window from his study in the manor house of Port Royal. He had a direct view of the main square. It was a gratifying feeling, knowing that the pirates of the world were going to be wiped out very, very soon. With Davy Jones under his control, the pirates were barely surviving now. With the addition of Roman Numeral Thirteen, they would be crushed absolutely. The public hangings in the square were presided over by a legion of soldiers, and Armored Knight Heartless. The Heartless were actually more reliable than human soldiers. They didn't waste time talking to one another, they didn't complain of a job was too brutal. They merely followed their orders mindlessly and without thought. In fact, if Beckett could have, he would have replaced the soldiers with the Heartless. But, Maleficent had warned him not to rely too much on the power of darkness. If one did, the Heartless could very well have a new member of their race. He smiled. It didn't matter. He had already assured her that he knew perfectly the power of the Heartless. But, Lord Beckett thought, not all the news had been good. He had gotten a letter from Maleficent by way of her pet raven Diablo, telling him of Organization XIII's return. It seemed that the hunt was on for Thirteen, and why the experiment that was calling itself Tine had suddenly become the most important object in the cosmos he didn't know. All he did know was that he was going to get his hands on it. He stood up and walked over to the window. Then his eyes widened. What was this? Some kind of red and yellow ship was landing on the eastern wall. He could see soldiers running toward it, and shouting. Then, a familiar black and yellow clothed figure emerged from the cockpit. Beckett gritted his teeth. He had never seen the Keyblade Master in person, but he had heard of the boy's many annoying stunts that had cost the members of the Alliance bitterly. He had killed many of them. That would not happen to him. "Mercer" he called. The door to the room opened. A hard faced man in a brown coat and three cornered hat stood there.

"What is it, sir?" he asked.

Beckett walked over to his henchman. "Tell the soldiers to shoot the boy who comes out of that ship on the wall. Kill _anyone_ who comes out after him. There is to be no mercy. Mingle the Heartless in with the soldiers as well. Is that clear?"

"It is" Mercer said.

"Excellent" Beckett said. He returned to watching the windows. "Nothing personal, Keyblade Master" he said softly. "It's just good business."

"Hey! We're here!" Sora cried as he leaped out of the ship. The air was warm and fragrant and the early morning sun was coming up over the horizon. "Let's go to town and see if Will and Elizabeth are---" Sora had been walking around the wall and looking down as he did so. What he saw horrified him. A large crowd of people were gathered before a gallows. The crowd was so huge that Sora could see it went back to town. The people were lining up one after another. Soldiers stood guard over the prisoners. Worse, Heartless, Armored Knights were milling around, making sure people didn't escape. Men, women, and children were all going up to get killed. Even as Sora watched, bodies slumped lifelessly through the trapdoor.

"What's goin' on?" Goofy said in horror. Donald squawked in surprise.

"Heartless! Attacking people?"

"We've gotta stop them!" Goofy said. He pulled out his shield and ran down the steps.

"Right with ya!" Sora said and ran after his two friends. His stomach was a coil of knots. What could have caused this? How could Port Royal have come to this? He didn't know that much about the town, admitted, he had been too busy chasing Captain Barbossa to really ask what everyday life in Port Royal was like, but he didn't think that Heartless and mass executions were a part of it.

Sora and the others had barely reached the end of the wall, when a man yelled out to them. They stopped and looked. It was a man in a brown coat and a three cornered hat. Behind him were a multitude of soldiers and Armored Knights.

"Keyblade Master!" he shouted. "In the name of the Crown, stop immediately!"

"What is this?" Sora asked. "Stop hanging those people, now!"

"I am afraid that is impossible" the man said, stepping toward them. "Lord Beckett's orders are that all who are pirates, or suspected of associating with pirate activities are to be hung from the neck until dead."

"That's horrible!" said Donald. "Stop it now!"

"Yeah! Jack's a friend of ours, and he's a pirate!" said Goofy.

The man smiled. "Ah, so you _admit_ to being party to pirate affairs. You heard him men! Seize and kill them! Bring the boy's head to Lord Beckett!"

"Looks like we're in trouble again" said Sora. He hefted the Kingdom Key in front of him. "Get ready guys."

"Thunder!" Donald cried. A bolt of lightning struck the man in the brown coat head on. When it cleared, he brushed off his singed coat.

"Wha---?" Donald cried.

"Oh, did I mention I was immune to magic?" the man said.

"I have a better idea, guys" Sora said.

"What's that?" asked Goofy.

"Run!!" Sora yelled. The three of them took off down the walls.

"After them!" the man in the brown coat roared. They could hear shouts and clanking armor as the Heartless and soldiers took off after them. A musket ball whistled past Sora's head, making a round hole in the wall near him. More soon followed.

"Wait!" Donald called. The duck stood, panting and faced the soldiers. "We have to fight. They'll catch us anyway!" he ran forward into the mass of enemies.

"Oh, brother" Sora said. "I guess he's right. Come on, Goofy!"

Sora and Goofy followed Donald into the soldiers. Sora struck out with the Keyblade, he smashed it into a soldier's head, feeling the man's neck break as the body slumped to the ground. Feeling sick, Sora dodged an Armored Knight's swing. Gathering his light aura, Sora shouted, "Rising Sun!" and flew into the air, smashing humans and Heartless alike. A soldier was going to shoot Sora in the back when Goofy slammed him with his shield. "Flare!" Donald yelled and several soldiers vanished in an orange explosion. A smell of burning flesh filled the area. Several went down as Goofy spun around, whacking around with his shield. Soon most of the enemies had been cleared away.

"We won!" Sora said.

"Not yet!" Donald cried. "Look!"

Sora and Goofy looked into the square and saw that the hangings were happening as if nothing had happened. No one seemed to have even noticed their presence. "Come on!" Goofy said. "We gotta stop the executions!" he started to reach the final stairs---when a large blast of energy slammed into the stone, sending chips of rubble everywhere.

"I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to interfere with what the law decrees is acceptable punishment for _their_ sort" said a cold voice behind Sora. The Keyblade Master whirled around. Behind him, surrounded by Heartless was a man dressed in black. A three cornered hat covered a powdered white wig. His voice was cold and commanding.

"Who are you?" Sora demanded. "Are you the one who's responsible for this?"

The man smiled. If a snake could smile, it seemed that its expression would be the one this man wore right now. "I am Lord Cutler Beckett, Chairman of the East India Trading Company, Keyblade Master Sora. And yes, I _am_ responsible for the executions of pirate sympathizers within this fair town."

"Well, stop it!" Sora said. "You can't just kill anyone who you think is a pirate! Some of them are innocent!"

Beckett waved a dismissive hand. "Whether they are pirates or not is irrelevant to me right now. The more pressing matter is the fact that the Keyblade Master has entered what I consider _my_ territory. I cannot allow that."

"How do you know me?" Sora asked. "Are you…" his voice trailed off. "You're with Maleficent!" Sora accused angrily.

"Perhaps I am" Beckett said, walking a little closer to Sora, Donald and Goofy. "All I will say to you is that you made a fatal mistake by choosing to land in Port Royal." He drew a gun from his coat. "Goodbye Keyblade Master" he said. He fired a shot at Sora.

Sora dodged it, and flung himself at the Chairman. "You'll pay for this!" he yelled. His Keyblade swung down---and was stopped by a field of dark energy that Beckett had generated around himself.

"You are a fool, boy" he said, smirking. "You are a prime example of someone who is rash and does not think, or plan out their actions. I'm surprised that you survived your encounter with Roman Numeral Thirteen." He shook his head. "It must have been pure luck."

If Sora had not been convinced that this vile man was involved with Maleficent's plans, he was now. "Blizzard!" Sora yelled. A ball of ice shot from the Keyblade and hit Beckett.

"Arrgh!" the Chairman staggered back, his face twisted in anger. "That was a _very_ grave mistake, boy" he said in a dark and quiet voice.

Sora grinned. "Why? If you're planning to kill us anyway, would it matter if we just went quietly?"

"Come on Donald!" Goofy said and charged forward. "Let's get him!" Goofy slammed his shield into Lord Beckett's side. The man stumbled to the side of the wall. Donald's Holy spell sent the ruler of Port Royal flying in a cloud of white light. He slumped forward. Sora stood over him, Kingdom Key in hand.

Beckett raised his head. "What difference does it make if you went along quietly?" he asked. "You're right. I am going to kill you anyway. But going along quietly _might have made your ends a little less painful! _he snarled. Abruptly his body dissolved into a mass of dark energy. A horde of Shadows poured fourth from it.

"It was a trick!" Donald yelled.

"Of course it was a trick" the real Lord Beckett said from a far away rampart. "Did you think that I was going to challenge you personally? I wouldn't dirty my hands with such as you. Heartless, kill him." The Shadows ran forward for them. The first group was taken out by Donald's Thunderaga spell. Sora's swings took out more of them. Goofy smashed an Armored Knight aside with his shield and yelled "let's get out of here!"

"Yeah, there're too many of them!" Sora yelled. "I don't think we can win against all of them!" they ran back to the ship.

"Hurry up!" Donald called as they scrambled up into the Gummi ship. Sora managed to get the controls.

"Let's ride!" he called and the ship flew up over Port Royal in a flash of its rocket jets. "We have to tell the King about this, too" said Sora. _Somehow I don't think this will add too many points to my talk to Maleficent theory_ said Sora. He suddenly remembered what Nexumair had said about Maleficent instructing Tine to lie about her freedom to lure them to her base. Suddenly, the ship lurched forward as a cannonball slammed into it. The ship began to weave dangerously in the sky, leaving a trail of black smoke behind it.

"We're hit!" Donald said. "Goofy! Shut off the back thrusters!"

"Why?" Sora said. "We have to get out of here! Without the back thrusters, we can't get into space. If we can't get into space, then we're finished!"

"We're leaking fuel!" Donald cried. "If we go into space and the fuel hits the fire from the thrusters---kaboom!"

Sora understood. "Then what do we do?" he asked. "If we can't get into space, what do we do?" the ship was floating helplessly in the air, a sitting target.

"Dive!" Donald cried. Several more cannonballs slammed into the side of the Gummi ship. The abused craft teetered to one side, one side a mass of twisted material. The light in the cabin began to turn red and an alarm began to blare.

"This is bad" Goofy said. "They're getting ready for some more!"

"That's it" said Sora. He swiveled his chair around. With a press of the controls he targeted the walls of Port Royal. Missiles streaked from the Gummi ship and slammed into the walls where they ignited the powder kegs that were used for the cannons. The entire eastern wall became a mass of fire and smoke. Even within the ship, Sora, Donald, and Goofy could hear the screams of the dying. Figures wrapped in sheets of flame staggered and stumbled around the walls.

"Don't look!" Goofy said, turning Sora's and his own face away from the windshield. Sora felt guilty. He had killed people. Well, there were the undead pirates, and that hunter guy back in the Deep Jungle, but that had all seemed distant. Here, he could see what he had caused, the terrible destruction. Suddenly, the Gummi ship gave a shuddering groan that sounded like a man breathing his last. The lights flared brightly for one second…and then the engine quit. It just stopped moving. They were suspended right over the open ocean.

"Oh…damn" was all Sora got to say before they plunged out of the sky and hit the ocean. At that distance it was like hitting concrete. The Gummi ship exploded into a million shards of splinters, energy, dispersed from the engine went crackling everywhere like lightning. The water flared up in a huge liquid wave.

On the ramparts of the wall, surrounded by wreckage, Lord Cutler Beckett watched the crash of the Gummi ship from a telescope. He sighed in satisfaction. "Nothing personal, Keyblade Master" he said. "Just good business."


	26. In which Jack defeats Sora

**In Which Jack Defeats Sora **

"Sora…Sora…"

"Boy, are you alright?"

_Pump! Pump! _Water, gushing up from somewhere…pain in the chest.

"Ah, let him die! He's a nuisance! Make his friends walk the plank!" that voice sounded horribly familiar…

Sora opened his eyes to see a scruffy beard faced peering down at him. His chest felt like it was on fire, and he was soaking wet. He was covered in cuts and bruises. Donald and Goofy were tied up on the deck of a ship. They looked pretty much the same. Some of Donald's feathers seemed to have been burned off in some terrible explosion. The ship! That was right! The Gummi ship had crashed, and they had been hurled into the water amongst the wreckage and energy from the engine. And then…blackness. But that was not the worst of it. The man peering down at him, and suggesting that they kill him and his friends, was none other than Captain Barbossa.

"AHHHHHH!" Sora screamed and tried to back up, but was held firmly by two pirates.

"Hold on now, Sora" said another familiar voice. Sora turned to see Jack Sparrow leaning against a pile of rope on the deck. "Don't be too afraid now, Sora. It's been a long time since we last saw you!"

"Jack!" Sora yelled. "What are you doing with these guys? They're…they're…"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow" said Jack, as always, stressing the captain part. "Welcome on board the _Black Pearl."_

"Welcome?" Barbossa snarled. "Throw them off, is what I say!"

"Ah, don't be a sore loser Barbossa" said Jack. "So, Sora what's going on? Other than being blasted out of the sky by Lord Beckett's army?"

"What's going on Jack?" asked Sora, stumbling to his feet. "Who was that guy, and why does he want to kill all the pirates? He can't really do that, can he?"

Jack sighed. "Beckett's a corporate madman who takes it into his fancy to eliminate the world of pirates, for 'civilized people'."

"Then there's Davy Jones" said Barbossa. "Beckett has Jones' heart in his grasp and with it he commands the _Flying Dutchman _to sink some of the best ships we have. Now, it's come to this."

"Come to what?" asked Goofy.

"The Nine Pirate Lords, or Brethren Court are soon to meet" Jack said morosely. "And what's worse is that I seem to owe all of them money."

"Wow" said Donald.

"I'm really sorry about that" Sora said. "But what happened to our ship? It wasn't _that_ badly damaged…was it?"

One of the pirates pointed to another area on the deck. Sora saw a twisted, burned mass that apparently used to be the ship. "Oh no" he groaned. "Now we're stuck here!"

"We could fix the ship" said Donald. "But it would take a while."

"Yes, time you don't have" said Jack.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Within three days we'll be arriving in Shipwreck Cove. At that point, the Brethren Court will convene. You'll just be in the way."

"What'll happen if we're in the way?" Donald asked uneasily.

Barbossa leered unpleasantly. "The thing about pirates is…we tend to kill those who are in the way."

Sora and his friends exchanged uneasy glances. "This sucks" he said. "I have to go back and talk to the King about Beckett. He's in deep with Maleficent, and she's planning on using an experiment to control all the worlds. We'll never stop them _this_ way!"

Jack's eyebrows went up at the mention of Maleficent, but Sora didn't notice. "Maleficent eh?" he said. He turned to Barbossa. "I think that big guy who was here a year ago was connected to someone like that, wasn't he?"

"Ah, he _might _have been, but I don't tend to remember stuff like tha---" Jack whirled around, and pulled out a pistol. He put it to Barbossa's head.

"Then I suggest you _start_ remembering" Jack said. There was something about his voice that Sora didn't like. Something too strained and tense.

"Okay, so he was with Maleficent Jack" he said nervously. Jack put the pistol away. "Knew I could count on you" he said lightly. He turned to Sora. "So tell me about this Maleficent."

Sora, Donald, and Goofy explained what Maleficent had done, their history with the witch, and her new plans to exert her will over the universe.

"So what happened to this experiment?" Jack asked. "Is it still alive?"

"I don't know" Sora said. He pulled up his shirt to show the large scar across his stomach where Tine had slashed him with her sword. Even Barbossa gasped. "I hope she's dead" said Sora. "Because if she isn't I don't know if I can go against her."

"Captain!" said a voice.

"Yes!" responded Jack and Barbossa at the same time. Then they glared at each other. A sailor was coming up the stairs.

"What is it, Gibbs?" asked Jack.

"Ah…you're wanted in the Captain's Stateroom, captain. Someone wants to talk to you" Gibbs said nervously.

Sora saw an odd look cross Jack's face. "That soon eh?" he said. "Gibbs, take Sora, Donald, and Goofy to the empty cabins. You guys" he said to them. "Just stay there. This won't take long, savvy?"

"Yeah!" they said.

Jack walked up to the Stateroom and looked around. A table sat there and many maps and charts. Cannonballs stood tied in chains around cabinets and drawers. "Come on out" Jack called. "There's no one here but me."

A figure in a black robe appeared in a whoosh of dark energy. "Well, it's about time" the Organization member said. "So Sparrow, did you get the info like I asked?"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow" Jack corrected. "And all I got was that Sora beat the thing and it's gone into hiding."

The member took off their hood revealing a woman with short blond hair. "That's _all_?" Larxene asked. "Are you sure that there wasn't a detail, any tiny detail that could be crucial to our hunt?"

Jack shook his head. "Not a thing. But we still have_ our_ deal, don't we, love?"

Larxene glared at him, and her hands were instantly full of small daggers. "That little brat, Sora is on this floating junk heap?" her blue eyes gleamed with evil light. "I wonder if Superior Xemnas will mind if I cut him up a bit?"

Jack drew his pistol and aimed it at the Nobody's head. "No, but _I _will, and especially if you kill him and run off before we complete our business. Remember, I need him alive. And if you want to kill him, you'll have to do it _after_ I've finished with him." Jack pulled out a mug from one of the cabinets. "Now, if you don't mind, would you tell me what _I_ want to know and leave? You make the rum taste bad."

Larxene's body began to crackle with electricity. Jack's hair stood on end, yet his face remained calm. "I could kill you right now, do you realize that?" she said menacingly.

"And I could shoot you and kill you right now" Jack said. "So we're both even."

"Fine" Larxene spat and the energy vanished. "I'll tell you how you can possess the Keyblade."

"Exactly what I want to know" said Jack.

Larxene smiled seductively. "You know, if you want to escape Davy Jones so badly, then why don't you join _us_? We'll provide you with the escape you need."

Jack shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't think that becoming what you are is worth that. I'd rather a thousand years of service on the _Flying Dutchman_ than losing my heart."

Larxene shrugged. "Your loss. Now…here's what you have to do…"

Sora, Donald and Goofy sat in one of the beds in an empty cabin. The ship creaked and groaned around them. It was getting to be nighttime and lanterns were lit all along the deck.

"So what do you think is going on?" Sora asked.

"What do you mean Sora?" asked Goofy.

"Something's not right with Jack" Sora said. "He seems nervous about something. I can't put my finger on it…"

"Forget about him, what about _us?_" Donald wailed. "The ship's a mess! How are we going to get out of here?!"

Sora sighed. "I don't know. This has never happened before. We could always leave if it got too bad, I guess. But now we're stuck. And this Brethren Court thing…I don't like it."

Suddenly there was a knock on door. Gibbs stuck his head in. "Hey there lad. I was told to tell you that Captain Sparrow wants to see you all, right away."

"Okay, let's go" said Goofy.

"I wonder what he wants us for" Sora said. He felt uneasy. He didn't know why it was, but everything seemed sinister now. The lantern light bounced off the ship's wood and off the faces of the crewmen. It was a moonless night and the water was silent. It was like being on a ghost ship. This _was _a ghost ship once, Sora thought with a chill. Soon they reached Jack. He and Barbossa were standing in the light of several lanterns. Gibbs took his place next to Jack. "Sora!" Jack said brightly, but it was a false cheer and Sora could feel it.

"What is it, Jack?" Sora asked warily.

"I'm afraid that I have to ask a little something of you" Jack said. "You see, I'm wanted by Davy Jones."

"What? Wanted? Why?" Donald asked, jumping up and down.

"Long story" said Jack, waving one hand. "Bu the point is that if he hears I'm back…well it's service on board the _Flying Dutchman_ for me."

"But…well…but…" Sora said. "Don't worry! We'll help you fight him off."

Jack shook his head. "That's not what I want Sora. Instead, I just need a weapon to fight him with. A weapon like your Keyblade."

Donald and Goofy gasped, and Sora felt like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. "You want _what?"_ he said. "You can't have the Keyblade! It's mine. It stays with me, you know that!"

"Yes, I _did_ try and take it. But it didn't work" Jack said. "But it didn't work because I didn't know _how_ to take it from you. Savvy?"

"I'd like to see you try and take it" Sora said. He folded his arms in front of his chest. "You'll never be able to."

Jack walked over to the Keyblade Master. "Then let's try it out, if you're so confident."

Sora walked forward toward Jack to meet the challenge. "I'm ready" he said grimly.

Jack extended his hand and closed his eyes, concentrating. Sora held the Keyblade horizontally, and did the same closing his eyes and concentrating.

Jack began to tremble, gritting his teeth. Sora did the same. They both stood still their eyes tightly shut, their bodies shaking. Donald and Goofy, Jack's crew watched this all with nervousness. They didn't know who was going to win. Then, suddenly something began to take shape in Jack's hand. At the same time, Sora's Keyblade began to shimmer and grow less solid. Sora's eyes snapped open and he yelled "No!!"

That was a mistake. His concentration broken, the Keyblade fled his hand and went to Jack Sparrow.

"And the Keyblade is mine" Jack said calmly.

"B-but you _can't _do this?" Sora exclaimed. "That's mine! _I'm_ the Keyblade Master! Don't you get it? People need me! Something's going on! People are counting on me!"

Jack shrugged. "Doesn't affect me" he said. "I need this blade of your for something very special Sora."

"What'll happen to us?" Goofy asked. Sora felt a sudden queasiness. Last time, they had abandoned him when Riku had taken the Keyblade from him. He wondered what was going to happen this time.

"'Cause we're not going to abandon Sora!" Goofy exclaimed, raising his shield. Sora was surprised to see that they had brought their weapons on the deck. Like him, Donald and Goofy seemed to have sensed something wrong.

"What'll we do with them?" asked Gibbs.

Jack considered Sora and his friends. "Well…we could…hmmm…"

"Throw 'em overboard men! Better yet, maroon them on a desert island to suffer before they die!" called a female voice from the crows nest. There was a whoosh of dark energy in the middle of the gathering. Larxene appeared, looking maliciously pleased.

"You!" Sora gasped. Donald and Goofy backed away from the member of Organization XIII.

Larxene grinned. "Surprised to see me, Sora?" she asked.

"What are _you_ doing on the ship?" Donald asked.

"What are you doing alive?" Sora asked.

Larxene shook her head. "Aw, that's a little complicated for tiny brains like yours…but don't worry, you'll soon have a lot more worries about what I'm doing alive." She walked toward Sora. "Grab them" she commanded Jack's crew. The pirates moved to grab Sora, Donald and Goofy. They fought, but were held by the strong men.

"Answers, Keyblade Master---or should I say _former_ Keyblade Master" Larxene sneered. "Where's Tine? You fought that thing. So where did she go?"

"I don't know!" Sora said.

Larxene's face became gentle. "Oh, that's okay…I understand. You want to protect her. That's pretty nice of a boy, protecting a girl like that. It makes me happy to see it."

"No it doesn't" Sora said. "It doesn't because you have no emotions!"

Larxene slapped Sora across the face. "I will ask only a few times more, before I loose my patience" Larxene snarled.

"I told you…I DON'T KNOW!!!" Sora snarled back at her.

Larxene smiled patiently at him. "Fine then" she said. "I was actually hoping that you wouldn't tell me this easily. It gives me an excuse to inflict some serious…discomfort." Electricity began to crackle around her hands. It streamed out in a controlled burst and made a crackling aura around Sora's body.

"AHHHHHHH!" he screamed and writhed in the rough hands of the pirates. "I…don't…know" he panted when it was over. "Kill me if you want…but you won't find out what you want."

Larxene drew a small, yellow dagger from her sleeve. "Do you see this, Sora?" she asked. "This small little knife will find its new home in some part of your body if you do not tell me what I want to know this _instant!_"

"I don't know where she is" Sora whispered.

"Fine then" Larxene said. "How about an eye---" suddenly, Jack stepped in front of her, raising the Keyblade.

"This isn't your ship" he said softly. "And I suggest you stop ordering my crew about like it is."

Larxene glared at Jack. "This is _my_ interrogation, Sparrow, so I suggest you stay out of it" she snapped.

Jack pointed the Keyblade at her. "The _Black Pearl_ is mine, so I suggest that you leave." The Keyblade began to glow.

Larxene pointed at Sora. "I will see you in agony" she promised before disappearing into a Dark Corridor.

Sora almost thanked jack for saving him, when he remembered that Jack still had the Keyblade.

"Give it back!" Sora screamed at him. Jack tossed Sora a sword.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Everyone deserves a shot" he said.

"What do you mean?" asked Goofy.

"We're going to be coming up on a small island soon, on our way to the Court. You'll be spending a long time there, fellows."

"You're _marooning___us?" Donald screamed. "What do you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean" said Jack, and Sora gave himself up to despair.


	27. Captured! Xavier and Pete

**Captured! Xavier and Pete **

Riku and Tine walked down to the Sunset Station. They were still a little uncomfortable with each other. "So, what do you plan to do now?" Riku asked. He and Tine had spent all night talking about his experiences in the war against the darkness. Tine had been horrified when she heard about how Maleficent had used Riku for her own corrupted ends. She was glad that Riku had triumphed over Xeonhort's Heartless that lived within him for a long time afterwards. She also expressed happiness that Sora had given the hag a solid ass kicking.

"I don't know" said Tine. "I can't…I can't face Sora again. He'll kill me, and I don't want to fight him again. Besides, I don't know whether the urge to kill more Keyblade Masters will arise in me again."

Riku shook his head. "Don't worry. Maybe Merlin or the King could find something that would help you."

Tine shrugged. "I don't think that your King could help me" Tine said. "I am what I am. I'm a living weapon Riku, one forged from the darkness." She walked on a little bit leaving Riku behind. "I can't think of anything to really do" Tine continued. "I might just stay here in Twilight Town. People don't seem to ask too many questions about where you come from when you live here. They just accept it as being the way it is."

Riku frowned. "But you're really strong! Once you've recovered to full strength, you might be able to help us beat Organization XIII. I have to warn Sora that they're back." Suddenly another thought occurred to him. "If Organization XIII is back, then they must be out of a base. After all, Maleficent is occupying the Castle That Never Was and using it as her fortress. I wonder what was on the other side of that Dark Corridor that Organization agent came out of."

"Who is Organization XIII? And why did they want me? That man with the sitar said that he was going to take me back with him."

Riku explained who and what the members the Organization were.

"Nobodies, eh?" Tine said. "Sounds like you've got more problems then I have. Why should I team up with Sora of all people? He almost killed me!"

"After _you_ tried to kill him first" Riku reminded. "Think of helping us as a repayment for what you did in Radiant Garden."

Tine suddenly grew angry. "What do I have to be sorry for in Radiant Garden? I did what I had to and _wanted_ to do! I can do whatever I want! Don't try to tell me what my purpose in life is, Riku! I already had Maleficent try to do it, and I won't have _anyone_ do it. I decide for myself." With that Tine ran off toward Market Street.

"Jeez" Riku sighed. He didn't know what he had said that was wrong. Girls were touchy, he thought as he took off after her. "Tine!" Riku called, but she didn't look back. "Come back" he called. Tine was already gaining back her strength and was almost impossible to follow. The streetlights were beginning to go off, and Riku could see that the sun was poking up over the horizon.

Tine ran down alleys that lead to Central Station to escape that boy. Who did he think he was? She was a free entity, free to go or do whatever she felt was right. If she decided to slaughter the whole town, then that would be fine, _as long as she thought it was right!_ That was how she lived, how she was going to live for the rest of her life. The Keyblade Masters had no right to take that away from her. If they did then she would fight them to the death rather than submit to the "justice" of the light and its pawns. "I don't need any of them" Tine muttered to herself. "I wasn't created to have any friends, and that's how I'll stay." Of further irritation, the weird attraction she felt for this silver haired boy. That was the worst of all. She could not become infatuated with a Keyblade Master. If she did then it would make her weak, she would hesitate when the crucial moment of the kill came. She could still hear Riku coming after her. With his powers gone, he couldn't sense her aura and he went right past the ally that she was hiding in. "Stupid fool" Tine muttered, and went off to find Central Station. Instead, a large, fat shadow blocked the dawn light coming in though the ally.

"Well, if it ain't Roman Numeral Thirteen!" said a familiar voice.

"Pete?" Tine asked, more annoyed than scared. She could take care of this fat oaf with ease. This was getting tiresome. First the Keyblade fools had to find her, then Maleficent. It was like being in the center of a hurricane. The Keybladers wanted her dead, Maleficent wanted her alive and a brainwashed zombie, and Organization XIII…well, she wasn't really sure what they wanted from her, but she had a feeling that it didn't go along with anything that she would do normally.

Pete stepped forward from the alley entrance. "Alright, experiment!" he commanded. "You're coming with me, whether you want to or not!"

"Get out of my way" Tine said to him. "If you don't I'll turn you into such a bloody mass that Maleficent will _have_ to use magic to figure out what you once were."

"Y-you can't t-t-talk to me l-like that!" Pete stammered. "I am your master!"

"You're nothing to me" Tine hissed, and her eyes glowed yellow in the darkness of the alley. Pete backed up a few steps before her rage. Even a dolt like him could feel a surge of dark energy in the air.

"Fine! I'll get you the hard way!" Pete roared. He rolled a dark ball of energy toward her. Tine saw it coming and stepped aside, but Pete laughed. The ball changed direction and slammed into the backs of her legs, causing an explosion. "One point for me!" Pete cheered.

Tine summoned a shield of energy around herself. The explosion had bounced harmlessly off this field and dispersed. While Tine was congratulating herself on this latest work, Pete jumped high into the air and made a large shockwave, cracking the pavement. Tine jumped over it, and slammed her fist into his face. The force sent Maleficent's lackey flying across the alley, all the way into the Station Plaza.

Pete looked up to see Tine's large black sword pointed at his head. It looked amazingly like that Auron guy's that Hades had summoned.

"Stay away from me" Tine said. "I'm not some prize to be fought over. I'm my own free person, with my own feelings. If you ever, _ever_ try to capture me again, I will kill you. Understand?"

"U-understand" Pete gulped. This was a disaster…but perhaps it could be remedied. Xavier's flyers could be helpful in capturing this little brat. A little brat that _he_ had helped make into this!

Suddenly, a fireball hit Tine in the back. She cried out and staggered forward. "What was _that?"_ she asked. Pete looked up to see two people standing in the Plaza. A young woman with pink hair and a staff was pointing it at Tine. Another man, tall and thin with a weasel like face was holding a large sword in a guard position.

"You're Pete?" the man with the sword asked.

"Who wants to know?" Pete asked.

"Our boss---Xavier" the mage said.

"Oh, this _isn't_ happening" Tine muttered. She swung her sword at the mage, but it was repelled, making the weapon jolt out of her hands.

"Protect" said the mage. "It is an honor to meet you…Roman Numeral Thirteen. Maleficent has told us many things about you in her letters, yes."

"Too bad we have to smash you!!" the man with the sword was gone in an instant. Then there was a blinding flash and an instant of terrible pain. It was only then that Tine realized that the man had slashed her with his sword. Sudden fear gripped her. If they beat her up much more, they were going to kill her. They thought she was a super powered freak, which she was, but what they didn't realize was that she was still hurt. Tine balanced on her hands and swung her legs out in a circle. She caught the man with the sword under his jaw. He went flying across the square and landed with a sickening _thump. _There was a crunch at the sound of bone breaking. There was a howl of rage and pain.

"Wait!" Pete said. "I have to take her back to Maleficent. Don't hurt her too badly!"

The mage shook her head, as a Dark Corridor appeared a few feet away. "Doesn't matter. The boss is coming. He'll do whatever he wants to do now."

"Well, don't let him hurt Tine too badly!" he said.

The mage shook her head again. "The boss does whatever he wants. Only Zane and Lain can command his attention."

What she meant by this was completely lost on Pete, but he got the meaning of it. Xavier himself was coming through that gate and he would do whatever he wanted to, regardless of what he, Pete protested.

A boot stepped out of the Dark Corridor. A boy of about nineteen appeared. Xavier's shaggy blue hair had feather tied in it, and his eyes were a strange red color. He wore mismatched mixes of armor, and steel shod boots. His hands were clad in armored gloves that let the fingers poke through. He grinned the arrogant grin of someone who sees a situation in which they could easily win, and have fun while doing it.

"Hey! Ernie! Fate! What's _happening?" _he asked cheerfully. "I was just about to go with Lain to Bar Sec and then I decided to check up on our latest job. So what's the situation?"

The man who was apparently named Ernie stumbled over to his boss. "Sorry we took so long boss" he said. "The brat's giving us more trouble than we expected." He cradled his broken arm with his right hand.

"Actually, if you're still alive, then she's giving less than I thought she would" Xavier said. The Nobody walked right past Pete without a word.

"I don't care…if there are a thousand of you" Tine snarled. "No one will take my freedom from me without a fight." She raised her fists.

"Gahahahahahaha!" Xavier laughed. "You don't want to step into the ring with _me_ little girl" he said. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"No" said Tine. A dark aura began to glow around her body. "And I don't much care. All I care about right now is getting away."

"Well, I can tell you" said Xavier. "We both have something in common." He grinned and said "former number thirteen in the Organization. Xavier, the Flamboyant Brawler."

Tine was suddenly wrapped in a cocoon of energy. When it faded her clothes had changed. Instead of the old ones, she now wore a red t shirt and gray jeans. The silver sneakers had been replaced with black. Around her neck, a chain bearing the Heartless insignia hung. "Interesting" said Tine. "It always has to be on some ornament."

"Why did you do that?" the Flamboyant Brawler asked. "That was a waste of time. Were I a little less honorable, I could have attacked you while you did that little bit of vanity."

Tine shook her head. "Not vanity. Necessity. After all, once I kill you all, I'll need to be out of here. Since I can't change my physical appearance I can at least change my clothes."

Xavier nodded. "Good, good. I like it. Now, let's get it going." He raised his own fists. Tine realized that Xavier's gloves had been fashioned with hard armored backs for extra hard hitting.

"A fist battle, huh?" Tine said. "Fine. I can go without my sword." She rushed across the Station Plaza at him. As she neared the Nobody, Tine realized that she was attacking the same kind of being that had tried to take her earlier that day. This made her feel heavy with dread. It was partly his aura. It wasn't light or dark. It was just nothing. It felt _wrong, _and she didn't like it. Then Tine realized that her arms and legs weren't heavy from fear! Some other force was responsible. Her body began to feel as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Then those pounds became tons. Tine sank to her knees, and then fell forward. She was surprised to see the pavement crack under her as if she really _did_ weigh that amount.

"You've gotta lay off that Sea Salt ice cream" Xavier smiled. "Look at all the extra weight you've put on, girlie."

"What…_what did you_ _do to me, you nonexistent freak?!" _Tine snarled.

Xavier smiled. His hands were glowing with an odd silvery light. "I can control the power of gravity" he said. "With this power, the weight or lightness of an object is mine to decide. If I wanted you to weigh less than this feather in my hair, then you would. I could kill you right now while you lay helpless, too heavy to even move. Gahahahahahaha!"

"Die" Tine spat at him.

"I'd love to do that, sweetie" he said seriously. "Sadly we Nobodies are immortal…at least until we die by a weapon, or are joined to our Others. But that's another issue. You're coming with me."

"I'll never come with you!" Tine shrieked and tried to get up. It was no use. It was like being frozen. Xavier walked over to Pete.

"Is that satisfactory, Cap'n Pete?" he asked. "I used non lethal force, just like you wanted." Then Xavier's joking manner faded. "But there's another issue. One that requires our immediate attention. I'll tell you about it back at headquarters."

"But I don't need to go there!" Pete protested. "I've got all I need right now. I'll give you the munny. Then I can---"

"You can't go back to the World That Never Was" Xavier interrupted. "Well, you _could_, I suppose. But you'd have a very nasty surprise waiting for you!"

"What do you mean?" Pete asked, worried.

"The boss said later" said Fate. "So he **means** later." She pointed her staff at Pete. "Now get moving before I cast something nasty on you."

A Dark Corridor formed in front of the Station doors. Ernie and Fate began to drag Tine across the Plaza. "Ah…boss?" asked Fate. "Could you make this thing a little lighter? We can barely lift it."

Tine snarled at them, both from the fact that she had been captured by those she considered beneath her, and the fact that she did not like being referred to like an object, as an "it".

"But if I make her any lighter, then she'll be able to move" Xavier said. "That's the problem with this power" he complained. He looked at Pete. "You have no idea how many of the people I've had to hunt down over my career have escaped because my Nobodies couldn't carry them, and I made the victim lighter."

"It must have been bad" Pete agreed.

Xavier walked over and picked Tine up. "Well" he said, slinging her over his shoulder. "It's a good thing that the difference in gravity makes no _difference_ to me!" he said and laughed at his own joke. He was still laughing when a blue ball of flame slammed into the ground near him, sending chips of rock and other debris flying. "Huh?" Xavier asked. As the smoke cleared, the form of Riku could clearly be seen.

"Let her go" said Riku in a deadly calm voice.

"No way!!" Xavier yelled in an I'm-Pretending-To-Be-Angry voice. "She's mine!!"

Riku pointed Way To Dawn at the Nobody. "Didn't you hear me? Let her go, or I'll slice that nasty grin right off your nonexistent face."

Xavier dropped Tine, who made a large imprint on the ground from her weight. "Alright, let's go" he said.

"Who the heck are you anyway?" Riku demanded.

"I am the Flamboyant Brawler" said Xavier. He shrugged. "You're welcome to attack anytime and anyway you wish.

"Don't play with me! Nobody!" Riku roared. He charged at Xavier, Way To Dawn held out in a cutting motion. He swung at the Nobody.

Xavier stood there, not even bothering to defend himself. "Hmmm…a Keyblade, eh?" he said. "Well, your duty to the worlds is about to become a lot heavier, ha ha!" he held up his hand and it glowed with silver light. Then, Xavier's face became surprised.

"No! What the---" Riku came down hard on him swinging Way To Dawn. Xavier teleported out of the way. "Whew! Missed!" the Nobody said in relief. "But how did you do it?"

Riku smiled grimly. "I'm wise to your kind's ways, Nobody. You manipulate the person in front of you with your powers. If someone were to charge you head on, like Tine did, they'd be trapped in an instant. But I dodged back at exactly the second I felt you charge up your power. Now, how about letting my friend go?"

Tine's eyes widened at the word "friend."

Xavier sighed. "I guess you're more than I expected out of an opponent. But unfortunately for you, there's munny involved in this. And if munny's involved than you can bet your ass that Xavier's going to stick through to the end!" he charged forward.

Riku dodged out of the way of Xavier's powerful punch and ran toward Tine's prone body. He went to get her, but was pulled back and slammed with bone snapping force into the ground.

"Ugghhhh!" he screamed. Xavier stood over him. His red eyes glowed with greed at the thought of the munny reward and amusement at the sight of his opponent down on the ground.

"Little brats who don't listen, need to be taught" he rumbled in a deep snarling voice. He kicked Riku clear across the Plaza. Riku felt even more of his ribs snap and groaned.

"I think that's a wrap" Xavier said. Before Riku's rage filled eyes, he picked Tine up and walked up the stairs to the Corridor.

"No! Tine!" Riku yelled.

Pete stopped by Riku's body for a minute. "This one's for Maleficent" he said, and spit on Riku head. Then he hurried off after the group as Xavier, Ernie, Fate and Tine passed through.

"Noooooooo!" Riku shrieked. He felt like the most desolate, foolish and weak person in the universe at that moment. He had been beaten by a former member of Organization XIII who was helping Maleficent. Obviously Xavier was a mercenary of some kind, a soldier for hire. He must have been paid by Maleficent. Riku pulled himself up, using the a bush.

"Got…to…get…Kairi…" he muttered. He staggered through the streets. The sun was fully up now, and people were starting to come out of their houses. The sun never fully rose in Twilight Town, so even at this early hour (6:02 A.M.) it appeared late afternoon. Suddenly, he heard a voice.

"Oh my God! Riku, are you alright?" he turned to see Ollette. She was looking at his terrible condition.

"I'm…I'm not alright. I have to get a phone so I can call the Dusk Hotel! My friend Kairi is staying there. I have an important message for her."

Ollette grabbed Riku's arm. "My dad owns a florist shop. We have a phone there. It's the closest."

"Thanks" Riku said. The two of them burst into the shop.

"Sorry dad!" Ollette said as they ran by a man who was coming out of the back office. Riku looked at the phone on the wall. He inserted a few money orbs into the slot. He then dialed the Dusk Hotel's number.

"Kairi?" he gasped when he got her room.

"Yeah, what _is_ it?" Kairi snapped. "I just got out of the shower Riku. I was planning on watching some TV. Did you find that monster Tine."

"I found her and a whole pack of trouble" said Riku, and without letting her aske questions, he began to explain.

**So ends another chapter! Please review! I love them, good or bad! **


	28. Time to Get Nasty

**Time to Get Nasty **

_Lea walked down the street to the Corner Market. It was only ten o'clock and already she was sweating from the mid summer heat. Her Uncle Winston owned it, and she knew that she was going to get free chocolate covered nuts when she came there. As Lea arrived at the market, she saw that it wasn't as busy as usual. In fact, there was almost no one there. The market with its green and white sides and huge wraparound porch was sitting empty except for her uncle and a few of his friends, men from Catik Road, the ones her mother told her to stay away from. It looked like she wasn't going to get her candy after all. Then she shook her head. Lea Delosian was _not_ someone to give up easily. She tossed her long red hair back from her eyes. After all, she had survived the serious butt kicking she had received from her brothers after getting those tattoos under her eyes and telling them it was a gang symbol. And if those men at the porch were thinking about doing anything…well, she always had her trusty chakrams to deal with them. _

_"Hey, Uncle Winston!" Lea called running up the stairs. Her chuck boots made clumping sounds on the wood. Winston, a fat man in a tobacco stained t-shit walked over to her. He was carrying his gunblade, something she had _never_ seen him do. It always remained mounted on the wall in his back office. _

_"What's going on? Why's the store empty?" Lea asked. _

_"Hmpf" Winston snorted. "Marty here, thinks he saw some weird kind of monsters in the East Forrest earlier" Winston said. "So me, being on o' the City Guard, had to close down my shop, and look out for these stupid 'yellow eyed shadows' as Marty called 'em. More likely he was drinking and he imagined the whole thing." _

_Lea sighed, and wiped her sweaty hands on her jeans. "I wish _**I**_could be part of the City Guard" she said. "I'd be a great person for the job!" _

_"That you would" said Uncle Winston. "But, let's leave that to the men, eh?" _

_Lea scowled. Already at sixteen she had decided that she hated being a girl. They didn't get to do anything! _

_"Now don't be mad" said Winston seeing her expression. "Here, I'll give you to bags of chocolate. I don't have any of the nuts yet. Shipments from the west seem to have stopped for some reason" he frowned, and then smiled. "Probably because of those 'yellow eyed shadows', ha-ha! But it really is playing havoc with my business." _

_Lea barely heard a word he had said. She was thinking. All her life she had been forced to act like a normal girl, someone who would wait to get married and then raise children. That was how things worked in the world of Aquivale. But now she was thinking. Suppose that these monsters were real? Suppose that she killed them all? She was good at fighting; her brothers (unknown to their mother) had showed her how to handle the chakrams that their father had left behind when he died in the Great War. If she killed the monsters then she would be celebrated throughout the town. Maybe throughout the Kingdom of Aquivale. She determined that she would do just that. _

_As she walked out from the Market, her head was filled with dreams of grand celebrations in her honor---_

"No! Lea you fool!" Axel sat upright in bed, sweating and breathing hard. "No, Lea" he said softly. "How could you be so _stupid?" _this was the fourth night in a row having that dream about Lea. It was so _real_. He could feel the heat of the sun, he could taste the candy, he smell Uncle Winston's smell of sweat and cigarette smoke. Lea loved her

(_Her? My?_)

Uncle to death and he loved her too. She was so _frustrated_ by the world that she lived in. Axel shook his head. His name was Axel. _Axel. _Not Lea. Some weird girl who he had dreams about daily wasn't going to help him. He rarely dreamed and when he did he dreamed only of her. But what was his connection to this girl. He looked down at his

(_Her) _

weapons and sighed. These chakrams had been with him since before he entered the Organization. Xemnas had found him wandering around the Dark Beach outside the Castle with no memory of who he was. All he had to go by was a bunch of jumbled up letters in his head that he couldn't seem to organize into a recognizable name. That was all. _But what were you wearing __a__xel?_ said a nasty mocking voice in his head. _Come now, let's discuss what you were WEARING when Superior Xemnas found you on the Dark Beach. What about the jeans…and what about the charm bracelet---_

"Shut up" Axel said and went to the bathroom across the hall from his room. This was his section of the Castle; all the members got their own. He shared it with nobody, but his Nobodies. He laughed a little shakily at this joke. He went into the bathroom, turned on the lights and went to splash some cold water on his face. Then he looked in the mirror and screamed.

It was Lea's face in the mirror and not his own.

Suddenly a Dark Corridor formed behind Axel. He whirled to see Marluxia appear behind him. "Well, it looks like the Flurry of Dancing Flames has gone mad" Marluxia said, grinning a nasty smug grin. "I've arrived just in time for an excellent show."

Axel ignored him and turned back to the mirror. It was him in the mirror and not Lea. "Just me" he breathed. "Not Lea." He turned to Marluxia. "Now, what do you want?"

Like Axel, Marluxia was wearing a black bathrobe with his number emblazoned on it in silver. "I was asked by Zexion to get you" he said. "Superior Xemnas has called a meeting of the Thirteen Council."

Axel groaned. "Why now?" he said. "We're all supposed to be sleeping! What does he do, stay up and plot things while the sane people sleep?"

Marluxia shrugged. "How should I know? All I know is that you should get a move on. The Superior does not like to be kept waiting."

Axel gave on last snarl, and went back into his room. He appeared later in his black robe for everyday use. He and Marluxia teleported. Well, Axel thought, at least this was better than what happened earlier. It was a change and it would take his mind of Lea. At least for a while.

Most of the Organization was already seated in the huge silver throne that marked their places. Axel and Marluxia were the last ones.

"Took you a while didn't it?" asked Xibar. "And why is Axel all sweaty---ouch!" he said, as Marluxia directed a rain of razor sharp rose petals his way.

"Can't take a joke, eh Mar?" said Larxene. Marluxia and Axel silently took their places.

"Now that number eight and number eleven are here, we can begin" said Xemnas. He leaned back on his throne. "Terrible news" he said abruptly. "Twilight Town is no longer the place where Tine rests. Our Kingdom Hearts has been stolen."

"What do you mean, stolen sir?" Vexen said. "That should be impossible! Who managed to challenge that thing and live?"

"The Superior is explaining, Vexen" said Lexaeus.

"Yes, I was explaining" said Xemnas. "Tine was abducted by a mercenary group calling themselves 'Xavier's Flyers'. Does that name sound familiar?"

Saix gritted his teeth and his hand strayed to the X shaped scar on his face.

"Oh, _him!" _said Demyx. "I knew that name sounded familiar when you guys were talking about how Maleficent was---"

"SHUT UP!!" Xemnas roared in rage. He teleported from his throne to Demyx's and threw the Melodious Nocturne to the floor. "YOU ARE ALREADY IN TROUBLE! IF NOT FOR YOU, THEN WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION! TINE WOULD ALREADY BE IN OUR CUSTODY! YOU ALLOWED YOURSELF TO BE BEATEN BY SNIVILING _CHILDREN_!!" the veins stood out in the Superior's face. Then he calmed. "Forgive me, number nine" he said, helping Demyx up. He put a hand on his trembling shoulder. "This is a serious situation" he called up to the others from the floor. "If we are to locate Tine, then we must find the hideout of these Xavier's Flyers. If that traitor Xavier is indeed at their head, he is to be captured alive, if possible. If it someone else, kill them." He smiled that insane grin. "The time has come to get nasty, my friends. The well being of our hearts is depending on this!"

"Well let's get started!" said Xaldin. "What are we waiting for?"

Axel said nothing. The entire incident with Demyx had just confirmed for him what he had suspected for a long time: the Superior was insane. The question was, just how insane was he? Crazy didn't necessarily mean stupid. He might still be committed to their goal. But what if…no, Axel shook his head. Xemnas wouldn't, _couldn't _have any other use for Kingdom Hearts than to restore their hearts. It was impossible. After all, that was all that it was good for.

"What about thirteen?" asked Luxord. "He should do his part, shouldn't he, sir?"

"That little brat's never around when we need him" Xibar complained. "Why is he even in the Organization? He never even does anything. He's always on that 'extended mission' thing."

Xemnas nodded. "Number thirteen will be _very_ useful to us this time. The time on his extended mission is will prove valuable. I'm sending him on this mission alone. Call it a make up for the missions that he's missed."

Axel smothered a laugh. Looked like the little snot was going to get his butt worked off. Axel had known Xavier. If the Flamboyant Brawler had something he wanted…he wasn't going to give it back without a fight or munetary persuasion.

When Tine woke up, she thought that she was still asleep in the bed in the Old Mansion. Or maybe, maybe she was still in the tank. Then she decided it was the Mansion. She had dreamed about meeting Hayner, Pence, and Ollette. There had never been any Twilight Town; there had never been any Riku. "Better get up" Tine muttered. She was feeling a lot better. For the first time in what seemed like days (but had only been hours, since she _was_ dreaming after all) she felt completely better. No pain or aches or anything. Tine opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her arms. They had, she noticed, unfortunately developed scars, faint pale lines that traced through the skin. She wondered how many other injuries had scarred. She also realized that while she was in a bed, she was nowhere that resembled the Old Mansion.

"Oh good! You're awake!" said a cheerful voice near her. Tine turned to see a girl a little older than her apparent age. She was about eighteen and had orange hair shot through with black. It added to her large brown eyes. She was tall and had a large battle ax strapped to her back.

"Who are you?" Tine asked. She looked around the room. She was in a room that was bare stone walls. The bed and a nightstand where the only features in it. The woman sat down on the bed.

"Hi Tine. My name is Lain" she said. "Xavier told me that when they captured you, you put up quite a fight. I guess that's why he didn't really hurt you. He could tell that you were in pain and hurting and that you still wouldn't give up."

Suddenly Tine remembered everything. "You!" she shrieked. "Your gang kidnapped me! Let me go, right now!"

Lain laughed slightly. "Let you go? Why would we do that? Maleficent has given us a massive reward for your capture."

Tine's eyes flared yellow. "Maleficent…I'll kill you all then! I'm at full strength now, and I make you all suffer!" she reached for the darkness power to summon her powers, her sword, her Heartless…and nothing happened. "What the heck?" Tine said.

"The darkness power is sealed from this castle" said Lain. Xavier did that a while ago, back when he was still in Organization XIII. Part of an experiment for someone named Vexen."

"So is our little prize awake?" Xavier asked as he entered the room. He walked over to where Lain was.

"She's awake…but you really have to work on that arrogant streak of yours, Xavier" said Lain. "What did you do to offend her…besides capturing her?"

"I might have been a little…cocky" said Xavier. "But it come with the territory, when you've got superhuman powers!" he threw his head back and laughed.

Lain gave Tine and exasperated look and sighed. Tine returned Lain's look with a glare. "Sorry" said Lain. "That's just the Flamboyant Brawler for you."

"Wait!" Tine said. "You were part of Organization XIII! I remember you telling me that!"

Xavier looked at her. "Oh yeah. How do you know about us anyway?" he asked.

"I met someone strange in Twilight Town with a black robe. He attacked and said he wanted to take me back with him."

Xavier sighed. "Oh yes, those slobs. So which one was it? That creeper Saix? That lazy ass Zexion?"

"Huh?" Tine asked. "What?"

"Oh, never mind" Xavier said. "All I can really guess is that the guys in black are on the move again. And they want you for some reason. I can't figure it out and I don't want to. All I want to do is turn you in for a lot of money." He smiled. "And if my former comrades don't like it, well…they know where to stuff it. Ha ha!"

Lain regarded Tine almost sadly. "I'm sorry, girl" she said. "But it was your bad luck to be created like that." She turned to walk away. "Come on, Xavier" she said. "Take me to the Bar Section and buy a girl a drink?" they both left holding hands and laughing. Tine heard the door click shut behind them and then it locked.

Tine thought about Riku. It _would_ be nice to hold his hand the same way Lain was holding Xavier's. Then she brushed the thought away. This was not the time for such things. Now was the time to think of escape.


	29. King Mickey to the Rescue

**King Mickey to the Rescue **

**Come now, guys! We haven't forgotten about Sora in all this have we?! I know, I'm sorry. I've given Sora and his two best followers a bit part. Don't worry---it'll be better in the sequel that's coming up!!**

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Sora groaned as Donald revealed yet another empty coconut. Its rotted insides gleamed in the moonlight. He hadn't had a decent meal in two days. None of them had. The island that Jack had abandoned them on was a miserable stretch of land, little more than a sandbaron a desolate patch of ocean. It was about twenty miles long, and while it mercifully had trees, it didn't have much in the way of food. Now, on the night of the third day, his hope that Jack might have been playing some ugly, ugly joke had disappeared and he realized that they might just die here. It would gruesomely ironic: he had been born on an island, and he would die on one.

"Well, I had a little more luck" said Goofy. He had managed to catch a few scrawny fish in the sea on the beach. "Gwarsh, there isn't enough food here."

"At least we have water" Sora said. They had melted ice from Donald's blizzard spells for fresh water. Sora didn't know where it came from, but he was willing to do anything to avoid the horrifying death of dehydration.

"We've got to think of a way out of here" Sora said. "If only…Donald! Can you teleport us out of here! Like when Merlin teleported from Radiant Garden to Disney Castle!"

"I don't know" said the duck. "I don't know that kind of magic yet."

Sora sighed. "Well, if we don't get out of here soon, I think we really might die here." In a sudden burst of rage, Sora picked up the sword that Jack had given him and hurled it across the beach. It stuck with a rubbery _thwong!_ sound in a palm tree far away.

"I hate you!" Sora shouted to the sky, as if Jack could hear all the way…well, all the way wherever he was.

"Sora, we can't give up!" Goofy said, putting a white gloved hand on Sora's shoulder. "We'll get outta this somehow."

"I know" Sora said. "It's just that…we've been here for three days! What's going to change?"

"I can tell you what's going to change in a few minutes" said a horribly familiar voice near the area where Sora had thrown his sword. A Dark Corridor formed near there. Larxene walked out of it, her boots kicking up sand as she walked toward them.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Sora asked. He found that he was so tired and hungry that he really didn't care to hear the answer.

"Weeeeelllllll," Larxene said, "looks like you were telling the truth after all, brat. That experiment was in Twilight Town until a day ago."

"What?" Donald said. "Tine's in Twilight Town?"

"Not now" Larxene said. "She was kidnapped by that jerk Xavier and his stupid gang. They're working for that witch, What's-Her-Name."

"Alright" said Sora. "Go ahead, fight it out. I wonder who'll win."

Larxene bristled with anger. "Go ahead and laugh Keyblade Master. You're going to _love_ why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" Sora asked.

"I still have to repay you for back on the ship" Larxene said. "That remark about not having any emotions because I don't have a heart, right?"

"You don't have a heart!" Goofy said.

"Right my dog-like friend" said Larxene as she began to move closer to them. "But by the time I get through with you, you won't have any hearts either---because I'll rip them out!" she lunged toward them. The group scattered before her wrath. "Don't think you'll get too far!" the Savage Nymph called. She opened her hands and a flood of lightning bolts crashed down from the sky, blowing huge chunks out of the ground.

"Blizzard!" cried Donald. A ball of ice flew at Larxene---and missed. The Organization member calmly kicked Donald out of the way. "Get out of the way duck" Larxene said. "I wanna kill the brat first. I'll roast and eat you later." Larxene then gave a light little hiccup and it was then that Sora realized something that gave him a little hope. The Savage Nymph was drunk! Perhaps a little too much pirate's rum or something like that. It gave them an advantage over their opponent. He dodged a flurry of daggers that Larxene hurled at his face.

Goofy smashed her in the side with his shield. While it didn't inflict much damage, it knocked Larxene even more off balance. She staggered forward and fell into the sea.

_"Aaaaaahhgggghhhhh!" _she screamed as she was hit by the water. "_Nooooooooo! I can't get wet! If I get wet then…then…aaaaahhhhhh!" _there was an explosion of electrical energy. When it cleared, a very burned and singed Organization member was left glaring at them. "I" she said. "Will kill you." and then she left. Sora and the others stood there for a moment, transfixed by what had just happened.

"That was weird" Sora said. "I wonder what's going on?" he asked. "We have to tell King Mickey about the Organization and we have to---"

"That's all right Sora" said a small voice near him. "I already know about the Organization's return." They saw King Mickey step out of a glowing white portal that opened near the same stand of palm trees that Larxene had come from.

"Your Majesty!" Donald and Goofy raised shaky salutes.

"At ease" Mickey said.

"Why do people keep coming from that one area?" Sora asked.

"The space between the Dark Realm and reality is very thin there" the King explained. "Just like at Master Yen Sid's tower. A Dark Corridor can be erected anywhere, but it's particularly easy here."

"Thank God!" Sora said, jumping up and down. "Now we can get out of here!"

"You _know_ about the Organization?!" Donald squawked.

"Yes, and I know how they returned as well" said the King. "But that's for another time. Currently there are more important matters for me to address. Sora, we will need your Keyblade powers in the battle to come."

Sora dropped his eyes and blushed, tears stinging his sight. He stubbornly blinked them away. "T-the Keyblade your Majesty…" he tried to say, but then all the anger and hurt that he had felt since Jack Sparrow had stolen his Keyblade came gushing out in a huge liquid sob. Mickey looked confused for a minute…and then he understood.

"Oh, Sora" he said. "The Keyblade fled you because you were full of pride" he said, when Sora explained what happened. "You were overconfident in the face of someone else's trouble. I'm not saying that what Jack did was right, and the fact that he allied himself with Organization XIII is quite disturbing" the King said as Sora started to protest. "But I will say that the Keyblade has its own rules and it changes them for no one, not even its master. I can lend you mine, but we need to leave _now." _

"What happened? What's going on?" Sora asked.

"I'll explain on the way back" King Mickey said. "But time is of the essence. If we keep moving, we may be able to stay one step ahead of our foes!"

At that moment another Dark Corridor opened. This time a man with a long gray and black ponytail stepped out. An eye patch covered one eye and a long scar ravaged one cheek. Xibar pointed his crossbows at the group. "Well, if it isn't the little pigeons from before" he said. "I liked to think that Larxene was right, and you died on some rock in the middle of the sea. But, seeing as she ran off somewhere after raiding my beer supply, I thought I should follow. Guess it was a good idea."

"Your Majesty! Sora! Run!" Goofy said. He put himself between the Nobody and Sora and the King.

"We can handle him!" Sora said. He picked up a piece of driftwood from the beach. "You don't scare us!"

Another Dark Corridor appeared, and Larxene stepped back out. Apparently she had treated herself to some potions, because she showed no signs of the hammering she had taken at the hands of the Old Man of the Sea. "_Now_ what are you going to do?" she demanded. She gave a girlish little giggle. "Once we kill you, there won't be anyone left wielding one of those annoying Keyblades."

"The Keyblades, and the Light will never die! I will never allow such a thing to happen" King Mickey shouted.

"Oh yeah, pipsqueak?" Larxene said. "I should warn you that we, as an Organization. are all in an EXTREMELY foul mood. So it wouldn't be wise to pick a fight with us today. But" she said as the King raised his Keyblade, and Donald and Goofy readied staff and shield, "I guess that you Disney Castle folks never were big on brains, were you?"

"Wait!" Sora said. "Don't do this! You'll just be throwing your lives away!"

"We do what our hearts command" said King Mickey. A Dark Corridor opened in the clearing. "Sora, if anything should happen to me, this Keyblade will find you" said the King. "And if we make it through this battle, then I will give it to you myself." Then he gestured to the portal. "Run!"

"I'm not going to let that happen!" Larxene said in a singsong voice that let all of them know that she was still a little tipsy. She teleported directly in front of Sora.

"Get out of my way!" Sora snapped at her. He raised the pieced of driftwood like a weapon.

"Puh-_lease_" Larxene said. She vaporized the wooden weapon with a blast of lightning. "You are sooooo pathetic" she said. "You were back then, and you still are now. I don't know how you troop of idiots managed to defeat me before, but it ends now" she was interrupted by the fist slamming into her jaw. The force of it sent the Savage Nymph flying four feet. Sora looked to see who had saved him. He saw a young woman dressed in black step out of the Corridor.

"Jeez, I hate those things, they're so friggin' cold!" the woman said. She held out her hand to Sora. "Come on! Let's get out of here, before hag face recovers!" something about the woman was very familiar…

"I'll KILL you for that, and it won't be quick!" Larxene snarled. She began to stamp toward them. Once again Sora was glad that she was drunk. Otherwise she would have probably killed them already. The mysterious woman stepped in front of Sora.

"I thought my fists told you nicely…to GET LOST!!" the woman fired a huge blast of blue energy from her hands. It caught number twelve in the Organization in the chest and sent her flying into a group of trees, which promptly exploded into flames. "How about my Seventh Heaven?" the woman said.

"Tifa!" Sora cried. "Thanks a lot!" He dove headfirst into the Dark Corridor. It was like diving into a cold shower. When he fell out, he was in the same room that he had been in earlier, talking to the leaders of the different Guilds in Radiant Garden.

"Sora! Are you alright?" asked Nexumair as he helped Sora to his feet.

"Donald, Goofy and the King were fighting there!" Sora cried.

"Who were they fighting?" Merlin asked.

"It was Organization XIII. They attacked us and they stayed behind to cover me. We have to go back there and help them fight. They can't take two members at the same time!"

"Two members?" Nexumair asked.

"Yes!" Sora said. "Tifa went out there to help them, but I've got to go back too!"

"No" said Leon. "I won't allow it. Sora, Tifa, Donald, Goofy, and the King can handle themselves in battle. They'll send those Organization members packing---if they don't kill them!"

At that moment, the King, Donald, Tifa, and Goofy walked out of the portal. It shut behind them. "It's alright everyone" said King Mickey. "We managed to hold them off long enough to get to the gate." They were all a little injured. King Mickey's clothes were rumpled, Donald's hat was ripped off at the top and Goofy's shield was dented in. Tifa had a small cut on her cheek which bled freely.

"Here" Aerith said, "I'll heal you all and we can begin to explain why we dragged you three here."

"You're alive!" Sora said to Donald and Goofy. He felt his eyes fill with tears as he found that his two friends, friends who had become as dear to him as Riku and Kairi, were still alive.

"Things are bad, kid" said Cid. "Now let's explain what's going on."

As they sat, Merlin cleared his throat. "Now to explain the events as they are, after you defeated Tine, she fled to Twilight Town. There, she met and befriended three children known as Hayner, Pence, and Ollette. After this, they encountered Kairi and Riku," Merlin said. He continued. "I suspect that the three were protective of their new friend, especially considering the state they found her in. Riku attacked and beat her. After this they were attacked by a member of Organization XIII."

"What?" Sora asked. "What happened then?"

"I was getting to that" Merlin said. "After that, Kairi with the help of Hayner, Pence and Ollette beat that Nobody back. He fled and so did Tine. She was captured by a group known as Xavier's Flyers. A group that is based in Radiant Garden."

"That's where you come in, Sora" Nexumair said. "I suggested that this would be the perfect time for you to use your Keyblade powers."

"But I don't get it" said Sora. "You warned me to stay away from Xavier's group. Why did you volunteer me?"

Nexumair sighed. "You won't be alone. I will be following with a group of Bastion Knights. This is the time to eliminate Xavier's flyers once and for all."

Once again, Sora was amazed at the seriousness of the young boy's voice. He sounded much older than he actually was. It was strange.

"You, Donald, and Goofy will go into the Villain's Vale where Xavier has made his lair. I will back you up with a battalion and we will charge."

"O-okay" Sora said shakily. He didn't know if he liked the idea of storming a bandit's nest with a borrowed Keyblade. He wasn't sure he'd do it if he had is old one. It was a bit dangerous. But then again, so was Tine and Maleficent. Not to mention Organization XIII. They all had to be stopped, no matter what the cost.

"So you agree to it?" Nexumair asked, his green eyes gazing at Sora's.

"Yeah, I'll do it."

"Excellent!" Nexumair laughed and clapped Sora on the back.

"Jeez!" Sora said, "for someone so short, you're sure strong!"

"As many people have found out" said the Captain of the Bastion Knights with a smile.

Sora readied his weapon. He had King Mickey's gold and white Keyblade. It felt odd in his hands. It was like putting on a familiar shirt that is unexpectedly damp. He knew that this Keyblade was tolerating him. It didn't like him, but it was willing to stay with him, because its master had told it that this was the best course of action.

"I'm going to provide support as well" said Tifa.

"Did you join the Bastion Knights?" asked Donald.

"Yeah, I'm an assistant captain, under the kid" Tifa said. "Nexumair's cool enough…he's just a little strange."

"Well, let's find Tine" said Goofy. "As long as we're together, nothing'll happen to us!"

"Right" said Sora. They looked down at Villain's Vale. "Xavier" Sora said, as they ran down the Ravine Trail. "Here we come!!"

**Well, here ends another chapter. By the way, this is the second to last one before I make the sequel. Please review! I can't say enough how much they mean to me!**


	30. Nexumair's True Face

**Nexumair's True Face**

**Well, here it is everyone. The last chapter before the sequel to this story. I also want to thank those who reviewed! I apologize in advance for the length. **

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8:43 A.M The next day

A hoard of Dusks stood atop the walls of the Great Maw. The white creatures were looking down at the Brawler Nobodies that walked in and out of the canyon. A whoosh of darkness appeared behind them, followed by another one.

"Ah, Radiant" said Vexen. "It has been a long time hasn't it?" he said with nostalgia.

"Why are you acting like _that?_" asked Larxene. She looked at the place with barely disguised boredom. "First of all, we have no emotions. How can you feel sadness at seeing your homeland if you can't feel it in the first place? Second of all, there isn't anything great about this dump."

Vexen frowned at her. "And there is nothing great about insulting your elders and seniors either" he said. He walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down at Villain's Vale. "Today we crash Xavier's little party" he said. "And Kingdom Hearts is ours." He looked Larxene. "How do you feel?" he asked. "Now that our goal is inches from our grasp?"

Larxene shrugged. "As much as I can _feel_ anything, I feel good." She pointed at the ruined castle. "I can sense about a hundred different people there. I think after the mission is over, then I might _play_ with a few of them."

"You never know" said Vexen. "Your Other could have been a wondrously charitable woman who would be horrified by your actions."

Larxene put her hands on her hips and looked at him. "Now, do you _really_ believe that?" she asked the Chilly Academic. He sighed.

"Not a word" he finally said.

Larxene laughed and teleported to another location. Vexen smiled a little himself and teleported after her.

They reappeared at the Dark Depths, a cliff directly overlooking the Vale. Vexen pointed. "And there's Sora and his friends" he said, looking at the threesome walk into up to the Vale. "I think that they'll be a perfect match for the Flamboyant Brawler."

"More than a match" Larxene said. "They managed to kill all twelve of us last time, remember?"

"Hmmm…" said Vexen. Then he looked at the Savage Nymph. "I will _not_ report your drunken behavior last night to the Superior. Had you actually killed Sora, then you would be begging to return to the darkness. Sora is our warrior, as he was _last_ time. Ironic isn't it? We needed him to get Kingdom Hearts for us last time, and now we need him again to get it for us. Except this time, in another way."

Larxene giggled. "I can't wait to see the look on Xavier's ugly face when those three come bursting in on him!"

Tine wandered around her room. It was going to be hard to escape, she thought. The door was locked from the outside and she didn't want to break it down, for fear of being heard. There were people in the hallway outside, guarding the exit. "Jeez" Tine said. She hadn't slept a wink last night, she was too busy plotting to escape.

"This is terrible!" Pete said his head in his hands. "What am I gonna do?! I can't leave Maleficent to them!"

"That's really kind of the only way to do it" said Xavier. He was sitting next to Lain and Ernie. The four were in the section of the castle that Xavier had converted into a bar. He called it Bar Sec, short for Bar Section. "You could always stay here. I could use someone like you for messages.

Pete puffed himself up and said in what he thought was his most noble voice: "I'm sorry, but I have already chosen my allegiance."

Lain shrugged. "Well, we can't keep you here forever. Maleficent has to find a way to get out of the grasp of those Nobodies. And she better do it soon, or we'll take Tine for ourselves. Think about how useful she would be if she was in our group!" she said to Xavier. "She could wipe out those stupid Bastion Knights!"

"True" Xavier agreed. "I might have to put some thought into that."

"No!" said Pete, but they both ignored him. "Oh, why is this happening?" he groaned.

Xavier laughed at this and swallowed his drink. "Sorry, man. But I'm not really on anyone's side. As long as I'm paid, I'm happy. I think the only side, I'm flat out against is the Organization, and that's a personal matter."

Pete sighed in dejection. This was all turning out to be a nightmare. He wondered suddenly if he was dreaming all of this. Maybe they were still on the date of the awakening of Roman Numeral Thirteen. Maybe this dream was a warning about not tampering with things that were beyond his understanding.

"Xavier!" said Zane. The little boy was the only one of them that actually seemed human, Pete thought. He realized that Zane was Xavier's adopted son. And it was as if Lain was his "adopted" wife. He didn't have either, but he could pretend. It was probably a Nobody thing.

But right now Zane didn't look happy, or cute. He was panting and he looked terrified. "Xavier! The Keyblade Master! He's here!"

Xavier spit out his drink. All around the bar there were curses and shouts of surprise.

"The Keyblade runt is here?!"

"What's this mean?"

"Has he brought those damned Knights?"

Xavier held up his hands for silence. "What the Keyblade Master is doing here, is not a concern. And, for that matter, neither are the Bastion Knights. They are a foolish bunch that think they can storm the Vale. As long as I am in command, none will break in here!" Xavier wasn't going to allow anything to happen to his group. They were the ones who made him feel like he was…human, not an emotionless shell. He looked at Zane. "Now, Zane. Where is this boy?"

"He's at the Gate" he said. "He and his two friends beat off all the Brawlers!"

Xavier frowned. He didn't like to have to replenish his personal guard of Nobodies. It attracted attention from the darkness and might bring a host of Organization members down on his group. If the Bastion Knights were dangerous to the human bandits, then a member of Organization XIII would be a disaster. They would stand no chance. "Okay people" he said. "I want you to form an attack position. If the Keyblade Master and his lackeys get into the castle itself…kill them." He put his hands on Lain's shoulders. "Lain baby…I want you to lead them."

"Definitely" she said. "I'm not going to let them crash our party." She gestured to a group of men and women. "Get ready guys! Let's give them a fight to remember!"

Sora looked around at Villain's Vale. On the inside, the place was creepy and dark. It wasn't very well lit, and slime dripped on the walls.

"Kinda spooky, isn't it?" asked Goofy.

"Yeah it is" Sora said. He was still getting used to wielding King Mickey's Keyblade. They had come close to being killed by Xavier's Nobodies. Sora now understood that the rumors of Xavier's nature were all too true.

"Hey you! Stop!" said a man with a large ax. He whirled the weapon at Sora. Sora ducked under it and hit the man in the stomach with the Keyblade. He smashed the man in the head with it before he could recover. But the guy kept coming!

"What the---?" Sora asked. Goofy threw his shield and it hit the man, making him go down. He groaned and fell.

"Oh, great" Sora said.

"What is it Sora?" Donald asked. The duck cast a sleeping spell on the man just to make sure that he didn't wake up.

"Is it the Keyblade?" asked Goofy.

"This damn Keyblade" Sora said. "It doesn't have any finishing moves. It just beats people up. It doesn't even come close to killing them. I need _my_ Keyblade back, and fast."

There was no more time for conversation, because more of the bandits were coming up to attack them.

"Blind!" Donald called. Soon thin streams of dark energy flew onto the men who were crowding the entrance way. There were screams of fear as people wandered around, trying to find the intruders. Sora and his team snuck past them as quietly as they could.

Tine looked out of her prison door. She could see through the keyhole that there were no longer any guards in the hall. The ones that were there had run off, shouldering weapons to attack some kind of problem at the main gate. Then she gasped. She felt the distinct scent of Sora's aura. "Oh crap" Tine said. Now she knew she had to escape. If the Keyblade Master found her then she was buttered toast. "Hmmm…if I can just find a way to pry this door off its hinges…" she said to herself. Suddenly, she felt a Dark Corridor open. She whirled to see Xavier, Zane, Ernie, Fate, and Pete step out of it.

"Just where do you think _you're_ going?" Pete asked. He stepped toward Tine. "You can't get away from us." He smiled arrogantly.

"Just what he said" said Xavier. "Now, see we've got a little problem. The thing is that the Keyblade Master is breaking in here as we speak. I could take care of the little brat, but I don't really feel like it right now. It's kind of funny. Well, as much as _anything_ could be funny to something like me. Instead, I want _you_ to fight him and kill him."

"Boss" said Fate. "The Keyblade Master's just reached the Mid-Level where the bar is."

"See?" Xavier said. "He's wreaking havoc with my men."

"I won't fight him" Tine said. "I won't fight him again. I made a…well, I didn't make a _promise_, but I'm going to try not to fight any more Keybladers. If I go against Sora then my instinct will rise up to kill more of them, and I might kill…_him." _

"Aw, you're afraid you'll kill your sweetheart?" Ernie snarled in a nasty, mocking voice. He was still in a rage at the experiment for breaking his arm in front of the boss. "Well that's too bad! You'll do what we say, when we say it! Got it?!"

"Don't be too tough Ernie" said Xavier. I think that---" suddenly, his voice broke off. "No…" he said.

"What is it?" asked Zane worriedly.

"It's them" Xavier said. "I can sense them! It's the Bastion Knights! That little brat has brought them to our damn door!"

On the edge of the Dark Depths, an army of Bastion Knights stood, Nexumair and Tifa at their head. "Targets sighted" said one of them, saluting and pointing at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "What are the orders, sir?"

Nexumair's six swords were strapped across his back in their scabbards. One of them was drawn and he leaned on it, thinking. His green eyes were cold and grim. "These are the orders: protect the Keyblade Master and the duck and dog things. Find and capture these two people: a girl with red hair and any Heartless insignia, and a nineteen year old with blue hair with a feather braided into it."

"What about the rest?" asked the Knight. "Bandits, their wives, children?"

Nexumair gave a small smile. "Oh, the rest? Eliminate them. Don't let any of them escape alive. Is that clear?"

The whole group, including Tifa, saluted that it was clear. "Excellent" said Nexumair. "Then, attack!" the Knights surged down the hill toward the hideout of Xavier's Flyers.

Sora slammed a woman with a mace over the head with Mickey's Keyblade. The stumbled and groaned but didn't fall. It took a thunder spell from Donald to knock her out. This was pathetic, he thought. He was relying on Donald and Goofy to protect him. They had worked out a rough strategy in the heat of battle. Sora would injure a bandit, or several at the same time. Then Goofy or Donald would take them out. Goofy was hit in the back with a sword. He stumbled forward.

"Heal!" Sora screamed and Goofy's wounds were healed. They were fighting in a closely knit group of three in a bar like place in the castle. Glass mugs crashed around Sora and the others. A group of little girls cowered under the bar. Goofy whirled around, knocking people into walls and through windows. A flare spell from Donald obliterated the opposition in front of the exit. Sora kicked in the wooden doors. Children, boys and girls ran screaming before the three warriors whom the assumed were coming to kill them and their parents.

"Where's Xavier!" Donald yelled. The defeated bandits mutely pointed up the stairs. This wasn't a betrayal of their leader, they knew. He could easily dispatch these ignorant fools.

"Thanks!" Goofy said. "We've gotta watch for danger Sora. Xavier's a powerful Nobody."

"He'd have to be if he got into the Organization" agreed Donald.

"Right" said Sora. "But we've got to find him, and Tine." He smiled at his friends. "But this time, we'll deal with it together."

Xavier paced wildly around the room. "Ernie, Fate!" he called. "Go down to the gate with Lain and take care of the Knights. You should be fine." He looked at Pete. "Pete" he said, his voice serious. "I'm sorry about how I've treated you. Listen to me. I'm going to give you a very special job. I want you to take Zane and get out of here."

"Wha---you can't!" the boy yelled. "I'll fight with you against the Keyblade Master!"

"Take him, Pete" Xavier said. "Under the Vale, there's an underground system of caves that lead to the surface. Take him there, until I come and get you. I'll do that after I've kicked that little Keyblade squirt's ass. It'll probably be fine. Most likely it's just a few Knights who saw all the commotion and decided to be heroes. It's not like Captain Nexumair himself is there, right?"

"Who's he?" asked Pete.

Ernie shuddered. "He's a fourteen year old monster. He's a master swordsman. He's already earned the title of Captain of the Knights. It crazy. If he _did_ come here, that would mean the end of the Flyers." Then he smiled evilly. "But let's not talk about stuff like that! Let's go kill us a few stupid law keepers!" he and Fate hurried to the Corridor that Xavier caused.

Tine saw her chance. "Sorry, but I'm out of here!" she cried as she lunged for the Portal. She immediately floated to the ceiling, and stuck there. "What the---?" she cried.

"Gravity, remember?" said Xavier. "Light as a feather. Now why don't you stay there until I---"

The door suddenly crashed down. When the smoke and splinters cleared, Sora, Donald Duck, and Goofy stood there, weapons in hand, fierce expressions on their faces.

"Well, if it isn't the Keyblade Master!" cried Xavier. "Get going Pete" he muttered, and pointed the Corridor. It rippled for a moment and then resettled. "It's on its new path" Xavier said. "Now MOVE!!"

"Come on, kid!" Pete said and dragged Zane through the portal. It disappeared.

"Heh" said Xavier. "Now he won't get hurt."

"As if we would hurt _children!" _Sora said. "What kind of monsters do you think we are?!"

"I don't know" said Xavier. He looked up at the ceiling. "What kind of monsters, are they Tine?"

"Sora!" Tine called.

Sora and Donald and Goofy looked up to see the girl who had caused the Heartless attack on Radiant Garden, the one who had beat Sora to a bloody pulp, the one who had laughingly told them that she was going to kill them all. How different she looked now. It wasn't the clothes either. Tine's eyes looked different. There was no malice and hate in them. They were still wild and untamed, but it was a _good_ wild and untamed look. _I'll deal with you after I get him!_ was on Sora's tongue, but what came out instead after looking at those eyes was: "We'll save you! Don't worry; we just have to beat up this jerk first!"

Tine's mouth opened in surprise. "_What_ did you say?" she asked Sora. But Sora and the others were concentrated on Xavier.

"So" said Xavier. "Before we fight, I have a question for you. What would you be willing to pay for this experiment? Something that would rival Maleficent's reward?"

"Pay you?" Donald asked. "Where would we get that amount of munny?"

Xavier waved his hands at them. "Oh please" he said. "Don't kid around when it come to munny, please! I know _you_ two" he said pointing at Donald and Goofy, "are aristocrats from Disney Castle. Therefore you are automatically loaded. And you Sora, are the King's favorite pawn. He'll grant you any amount of money you grovel for."

Sora backed into the guard position. "We'll pay nothing!" he yelled. "You helped Maleficent, and you hurt my friend Riku! You'll pay for that!"

"It's all business, kid" said Xavier. Then he teleported from where he was, to right in front of Sora. He lashed out with his fist, but it was blocked on Goofy's shield. The metal dented in the shape of the Nobody's knuckles. Sora gulped.

"Take this!!" Sora yelled, he brought the Keyblade crashing down on Xavier's head. The Flamboyant Brawler blocked all of the blows with his hands, almost too fast to follow.

Donald was about to cast a Blind spell, but Xavier kicked him in the chest, knocking him into Tine's bed, smashing it to pieces.

"Waaagghhh!" Donald cried. He slumped, motionless, stars swirling around his head.

"Oh, nuts---" Sora said, but Xavier' s fists slammed into his stomach. It was like being barraged with thousands of meteors of pain. "Aaaahhhhhh!" Sora screamed. Blood gushed out of his mouth.

Xavier grabbed Sora by the hand and slammed him into the wall. "How 'bouts a little spin Keyblade Master" he said as he delivered the crippling blow. "Shouldn't hurt too mu---" he choked off in a bubble of pain and rage as Goofy smashed his face with his shield.

"Get your hands off Sora!" he cried.

"Oh, you think that that was bad?" Xavier said. "**I** **wasn't getting serious yet**." His body began to glow with silvery light. Sora began to feel as if his body beginning to slow down.

_This could be a problem_ the Keyblade Master thought.

The battle between the bandits of Xavier's flyers and the Bastion Knights was raging back and fourth. Dead lay everywhere. Some were husbands and wives, and even children of the members of the group. The Knights even entered the children's section, killing all they could find. They had been ordered by Captain Nexumair to kill everyone except the intended targets, and that was what they were going to do.

"Damn it!" Ernie cried. "This is more than just a few Knights! This is a freaking _army!_"

"Stop talking and focus on fighting!" Fate said. The mage cast a Bio spell on a few Knights who were coming through a hole in the wall, and right in front of Ernie. Ernie rushed forward and cut them down. "See!" he said. "I _am_ paying attention to fighting!"

A large amount of screams echoed as Lain swung her large ax. Her orange and black hair was matted with blood, most of it not hers. "Monsters!" she cried. "They're even trying to kill the children! I've had just about ENOUGH OF THIS!!!" she roared. She swung the ax toward another group of Knights---and was blocked by Tifa Lockhart's fists.

"Men! Disperse and find Xavier! I'll handle this officer of his!" Tifa called.

"I don't think so" snarled Lain. She swung the ax to chop off Tifa's head. The other woman ducked and slammed her fist into Lain's stomach.

"Arrrrgg!" Lain said and fell to her knees. Tifa lowered her fists and was about to say something when Lain's ax slashed her leg. Blood spurted and Tifa screamed.

"Now I'm going to kill you" Lain said.

"Wait" Tifa said. "Seriously, wait a minute. Just give up Tine! If you do, then a lot of lives will be spared."

Lain laughed, and then spit on the floor. "You don't scare me. What can you do from the floor?"

Tifa's eyes blazed. "Captain Nexumair Nevy himself is on this raid! Do you understand me?!"

"There was a deathly silence. "Captain Nexumair…" said Ernie shakily. "He's the most powerful warrior in Radiant Garden! He'll kill us all!" he turned to fate. "Fate, we've got to warn the boss, and tell him…ahhhhhh! Fate!!!"

Fate was staring at Ernie with a pain twisted face. Then her eyes blanked and she fell face down…with an elegant saber sticking out of her back. Nexumair stepped through the hole in the wall.

"**What did I say about all the targets I didn't specify, Tifa?" **Nexumair said as he walked toward the petrified group.

"_Fate!!!" _Ernie screamed. "Ahhhh!" he ran toward Nexumair, his sword out. Nexumair merely sidestepped with fluid ease and sliced him in half.

"_Nevy!!" _Lain roared. She swung her ax at the captain. Nexumair flipped up into the air and made a perfect X slash in Lain's chest. The dead woman fell to the ground, blood dribbling out of her mouth. Nexumair's face was cold and calm.

"My orders were to kill all but the targets I specified" he said coldly.

Tifa found herself unable to look into the eyes of an extremely short fourteen year old. "I…I'm sorry sir" she said.

"Don't let it happen again" Nexumair said and walked past her. He sheathed his bloody swords. "Where's Sora?"

"Upstairs I think" Tifa said. "Fighting Xavier."

"Hmmm" said the captain. "Good luck against him, Keyblade Master."

Sora, Donald and Goofy lay scattered across the room. They all lay around holes in the walls. Then they began to stir. Donald felt around weakly for his staff. Goofy staggered to his feet, clutching his shield. Sora stumbled around, the Keyblade in his hands.

"Ha ha ha! That's right! Little pests should be _full_ of energy!" Xavier shouted from where he was floating. He sounded as if he wasn't sure which emotion to have: happiness that they weren't dead, or anger that they were still alive and able to fight. Considering what Xavier was, that was probably the problem.

"We…we can still fight" Sora said.

"What'll we do against him?" Donald asked, worried. It had been a nightmare. Xavier had somehow managed to make their bodies as heavy as lead. With their reaction time slowed, he had delivered a series of punishing punches and kicks. Then he had slammed them into the walls several times. It turned out that not only could Xavier make _people_ heavier or lighter, he could make _objects_ the same way. He had smashed them around with pieces of Tine's bed that weighed as much as iron girders.

"Sora! Donald! Behind you!" Tine called from the ceiling. The boy and the duck dodged just in time before the Flamboyant Brawler slammed his fist into the floor where they had been a few seconds ago, making a massive crater.

"Gotta beat him somehow" Goofy said, as he threw his shield. Xavier batted it aside as if it were no more than a Frisbee. Xavier teleported in front of the dog thing and punched him across the face.

"Yowch!!" Goofy cried in pain as he was slammed into a wall.

"Sorry" said Xavier. "But I've gotta spilt. I'd love to keep playing around with you guys but I've got things to do and people to see." A blizzard spell bounced off his back, too light to really do a lot of damage. Xavier laughed and grabbed Donald by the neck. "I think he'll be first" the Nobody said, and began to squeeze.

"No, not Donald!" Sora said, and slammed the Keyblade into Xavier's chest. The force sent the Nobody flying back into the wall.

"I just realized something" Sora said. "When someone isn't right in front of you, you can't control their gravity. You're concentrating on keeping Tine on the ceiling and you can't control us nearly as well."

Xavier's eyes widened. "Well, I see Riku's not the only smart Keyblade Master around here" he said. A Dark Corridor opened in the air behind him. "Sorry, but I _really_ don't want to fight you guys anymore" he said. He snapped his fingers and Tine fell from the ceiling into his grasp.

"Sora! Don't worry, I can take care of myself" she said as Xavier dragged her into the portal.

"How?!" Sora yelled as it closed.

Pete had been wandering around the old and dripping caves for hours. He was down to his last torch, and Zane was worried. "Do you even know where you're going?" he asked.

"Not sure" Pete said. "I think it's the surface."

"Hurry up" Zane said. "We've gotta find Xavier. He said it was only a few Knights so why is he taking so long?"

"Don't rush me, kid" said Pete. "We'll be there when we get there."

Suddenly a Dark Corridor opened behind them and Xavier stepped out, carrying Tine who was fighting and struggling. Xavier made her heavy and her struggles stopped, although her curses didn't. "Well, this is a pile of crap" the leader of the Flyers said in anger.

"What do you mean?" Pete asked.

"There's more than I thought, it's a damn army! And Nexumair Nevy is leading them!" he started to pick up Tine. "We've got to get Ms. Dark Heart out of here, before they---"

"I'm afraid not" said a voice near them in the dark. Pete raised his torch to see a fourteen year old boy with silver hair tied back in a spiky ponytail. His green eyes were narrowed at them in a warrior's stare. But he was short! He probably barely came up to Sora's chest.

"Nexumair Nevy?!" asked Xavier. "What's the so called best warrior in Radiant Garden doing here?" how had he gotten here? This place was sealed off. The only way to get there was through a Dark Corridor.

Nexumair drew one of his sabers. "How old are you?" he asked Xavier.

"Wha---?" the Nobody asked.

"I'll be fifteen next year" he said. "When you're really young, and short like I am, people tend not to take you seriously." He began to run forward. "So all I want to do is get this stupid little job done and watch some All-World cable at home."

Xavier raised his hand, silver energy already forming around it. "You should have stayed at home you little bra---" Nexumair slashed his arm, leaving a long cut down it. Dark particles gushed out in a flood.

"Ahhhh!" Xavier cried. Then he grinned a shark's grin. "Ohhh, the little brat's got skillz!" he punched at the boy, but Nexumair ducked under his fists at the same time drawing another sword from his sheaths. He slashed Xavier's other arm, his forehead, and his legs. Then, before the Flamboyant Brawler could react, he was kicked through the crystal walls of the cave and into another chamber.

_Th-this is crazy!" _Xavier thought. _No time to punch…or control gravity!_ "You!" Xavier cried. "You little snot!!"

Nexumair slammed both swords into the rock, crossing them above Xavier's throat. "You know" he said. "You're actually pretty stupid. When Roxas left the Organization, he at least had the brains to keep a low profile. But here you go, selling your services to different worlds. One would think you would _know_ about the danger." He leaned closer. "I may not be able to control gravity…and I may not be able to use the moon, or the power of wind" he said. "But I have my talents" he said. At the same time he said this, a loud _boom!_ resounded through the cave. A sonic boom. "I would say that the 'Flamboyant Brawler' has just lost to the 'Confident Fencer'" said Nexumair, and Xavier was so surprised that, for once in his life he didn't have a comeback.

**Guess what? This is the last chapter. Sorry about the cliff hanger ending, finding out about Nexumair and all. But the sequel "Child of the Heart" will pick up where this left off. Until then! **


End file.
